Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 199,288 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 84.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 199,288 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in News were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of News during the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of News by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of News by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of News by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,967,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,037,000 after acquiring an additional 449,938 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

News Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.98 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 moving average of $28.20 and a 200-day moving average of $27.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NWSA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of News in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.