James Murdoch sells $25 million in News Corp. stock

News Corp. Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch has sold $25 million worth of News Corp. non-voting shares as the company’s stock has soared in value.

Murdoch, the youngest son of media baron and News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch, on Monday unloaded 752,000 of the company’s Class A common shares for $33.32 a share.

The sale represented more than 20% of Murdoch’s stock holdings in the company. He did not, however, divest his more influential Class B voting shares. Murdoch’s father controls the New York-based media company through the family’s holdings of 38% of the voting stock.

The 40-year-old scion’s stock sale was recorded Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A News Corp. spokesman declined to comment.

News Corp.’s shares have been on a tear since the company announced in June that it would spin off its newspapers and HarperCollins book publishing house into a separate company.

Wall Street cheered because investors had long lobbied for the senior Murdoch to exit the paper-and-ink business. The company split is expected to be complete next month.

News Corp. A shares closed Tuesday at $33.48 a share, representing a more than 60% increase in value over the last year. In recent days, the stock hit a 52-week high of $34.04.

Rupert Murdoch also has sold tens of millions of dollars in stock in recent months as the price climbed.

Last weekend, Rupert Murdoch bought the Moraga Vineyard Estates in Bel Air. The 82-year-old tycoon announced the purchase on Twitter, but he stopped short of disclosing the price. The property had been listed for $29.5 million.

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