Norges Bank Invests $172.36 Million in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,258,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,357,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in News by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in News by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in News by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in News by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of News by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 42,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NWSA shares. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup initiated 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 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. StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWSA opened at $26.59 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.80. News Co. has a 12-month low of $22.65 and a 12-month high of $30.69. The stock has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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%. Analysts anticipate that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. News’s dividend payout ratio is 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.