News Corporation $NWSA Stake Increased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 87.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,692 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,026 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in News were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of News by 282.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of News by 96.2% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of News by 79.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of News by 26.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in News during the first quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $30.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.57 and a 200-day moving average of $27.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $31.66.

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

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 68.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. News’s payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NWSA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of News in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on News from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised News from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

News Profile

News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global media and information-services company that creates and distributes news, business information, books, digital content and real estate services. Its operations serve consumers, professionals, institutions and businesses across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other international markets.

The company’s Dow Jones division provides business and financial news, data and information through publications and platforms including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Factiva and Dow Jones Newswires.