CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 57,744 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in News were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWSA. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of News by 3.8% during the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in News by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in News by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in News by 1.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 60,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of News by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 42,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on NWSA shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $28.53 on Friday. News Co. has a one year low of $22.65 and a one year high of $30.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.35.

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

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.