Blue Grotto Capital LLC Sells 200,135 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Blue Grotto Capital LLC decreased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200,135 shares during the quarter. News comprises approximately 3.0% of Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s holdings in News were worth $16,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of News during the third quarter valued at about $990,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of News by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,832,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,856 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of News by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,512,000 after acquiring an additional 53,550 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of News by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 180,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of News by 381.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 192,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 152,864 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $27.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 1.34. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.17 and a 200 day moving average of $27.78.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, research analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NWSA. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Profile

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.