Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $618,000 Holdings in News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in shares of News Co. (NASDAQ:NWSA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in News were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in News during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of News in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of News in the third quarter valued at about $85,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in News during the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of News by 1,419.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NWSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on News in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on News from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upgraded News from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded News to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded News from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

News Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NWSA opened at $30.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.35. News Co. has a 52 week low of $22.65 and a 52 week high of $30.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.73.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA) last released its 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 predict that News Co. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. News’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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