Virtu Financial LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,414 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in News were worth $4,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in News during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in News by 95.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in News during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in News by 125.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NWSA shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on News from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on News from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

News Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of News stock opened at $26.09 on Tuesday. News Co. has a twelve month low of $19.25 and a twelve month high of $28.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 72.47 and a beta of 1.34.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. News had a return on equity of 4.51% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that News Co. will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. News’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

News 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 in six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.