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

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its holdings 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 (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NWSA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in News in the fourth quarter worth about $139,956,000. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in News during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,928,000. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in News by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 3,442,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,483 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of News by 249.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,206,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575,803 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam raised its position in shares of News by 90.5% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,375,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,767,000 after purchasing an additional 653,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

News Price Performance

NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.47 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.47. News Co. has a 1 year low of $19.25 and a 1 year high of $28.62.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. News had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. News’s payout ratio is 55.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

News Company 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.