Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $561,000 Stake in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 561 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in News were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 2,392.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of News during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of News during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of News by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of News during the third quarter worth approximately $85,000. 66.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised shares of News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of News to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.25.

News Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NWSA opened at $26.98 on Monday. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.80.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. News had a net margin of 4.22% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Analysts forecast that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

News Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. News’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

About News

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 through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.