Cerity Partners LLC Sells 18,682 Shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 72,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,682 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in News were worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in News by 204.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 22,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 15,365 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in News by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 458,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,617,000 after buying an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of News by 1,458.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 228,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,303,000 after buying an additional 214,167 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,014,000. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth about $490,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on News in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on News from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

News Price Performance

NWSA opened at $25.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.71. News Co. has a twelve month low of $22.65 and a twelve month high of $30.69.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. Equities analysts expect that News Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.