Yacktman Asset Management LP Reduces Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Yacktman Asset Management LP decreased its position in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 98.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492,445 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in News were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of News by 123.7% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News by 253.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter worth approximately $80,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News in the third quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in News by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWS opened at $34.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.69 and a beta of 1.38. News Co. has a 52 week low of $23.99 and a 52 week high of $34.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.36 and a 200-day moving average of $29.74.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.