The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in News Corporation $NWSA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 8.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 614,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,343 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in News were worth $15,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NWSA. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in News in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of News in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of News in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of News by 154.5% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in News by 561.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $29.44 on Friday. News Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $31.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.60. The company has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that News Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 68.0%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWSA. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, News presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.50.

News Profile

News Corp is a global media and information-services company headquartered in New York. The company owns and operates businesses in news, publishing, digital real estate services and subscription-based information products, serving consumers, businesses and professional audiences across multiple markets.

Its portfolio includes Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and research through publications and services such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s; News UK, publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun; and News Corp Australia, which operates newspapers and digital media brands.