Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 66,913 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,662,424 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,913 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.29% of News worth $45,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in News by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,713,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,832,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,856 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,357,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of News by 374.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,160,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,944 shares in the last quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,585,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in News by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,799,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476,224 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ NWSA opened at $24.58 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.78. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Company 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.