Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,344,287 Shares of News Corporation $NWS

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,163,392 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,344,287 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $301,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in News by 14.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 661,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,852,000 after purchasing an additional 81,986 shares in the last quarter. Regal Partners Ltd raised its stake in News by 218.8% in the third quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 199,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,876,000 after purchasing an additional 136,590 shares in the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in News in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,146,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in News by 10.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 25,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in News in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,358,000. 14.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

News Trading Up 2.1%

NWS stock opened at $30.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.81. News Corporation has a one year low of $25.49 and a one year high of $35.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.96. The company has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.89.

News (NASDAQ:NWS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. News had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. As a group, analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on NWS. Zacks Research downgraded shares of News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About News

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.