KBC Group NV Purchases 43,145 Shares of News Corporation $NWSA

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 66.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,716 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 43,145 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in News were worth $2,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of News during the 4th quarter worth about $188,788,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in News by 488.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,124,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,742,836 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of News by 2,348.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,664,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,961,000 after acquiring an additional 5,433,332 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of News by 16.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,356,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,673,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448,929 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of News by 46.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,706,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,552 shares during the last quarter. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

News Stock Performance

NWSA opened at $26.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.70. News Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $31.61. The firm has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.45 and its 200-day moving average is $25.57.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%. News’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that News Corporation will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NWSA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of News in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of News from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, News presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.14.

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.