JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in News Corporation $NWS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) by 14.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 661,412 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,986 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in News were worth $22,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of News in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in News by 97.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of News by 572.8% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its stake in shares of News by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 2,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of News by 226.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

News Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of News stock opened at $26.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. News Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.49 and a twelve month high of $35.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.41.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. News had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that News Corporation will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a yield of 73.0%. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings cut News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

News Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.