News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,952 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in News were worth $484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in News by 103.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 11,898 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in News by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,492,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,290,000 after buying an additional 72,438 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in News by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,081,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,873,000 after buying an additional 39,342 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in News by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in News by 133.1% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 208,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,668,000 after buying an additional 118,908 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of News from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.70 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.34.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NWSA stock opened at $29.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.84. News Corporation has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year high of $30.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.23.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 70.0%. News’s dividend payout ratio is 9.62%.

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.