Allianz Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stock Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 34.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,694 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in News were worth $8,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in News during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in News during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of News by 160.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in News by 661.1% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NWSA. Zacks Research cut shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of News from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.40 price target on News in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on News from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.02.

News Stock Up 1.1%

NWSA stock opened at $22.74 on Tuesday. News Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.99.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that News Corporation will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 83.0%. News’s dividend payout ratio is 9.85%.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) is a global diversified media and information services company headquartered in New York City. It operates through two principal segments: News and Information Services, and Digital Real Estate Services. The company’s news and information division oversees a portfolio of leading newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, offering content across print and online channels. Its properties include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, News UK titles such as The Times and The Sun, as well as News Corp Australia mastheads.

In addition to its journalism assets, News Corp is a significant player in book publishing through HarperCollins, one of the world’s largest consumer publishers.