Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWS) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 939,188 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,716 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.17% of News worth $28,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in News by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 93,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its holdings in News by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 44,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,498 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in News by 558.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 37,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 31,552 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in News by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 29,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

News Stock Up 0.2%

NWS opened at $32.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. News Co. has a 1-year low of $25.92 and a 1-year high of $35.25. The company has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.62 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.23.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 4.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that News Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

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.