Murdoch's company bought into the stock after changes were made to Australia's media ownership laws in 2006. The company described the purchase as a strategic and friendly investment.
Reasons for yesterday's surprise sale were not given but it comes less than a week after Murdoch launched a US$5 billion (£2.5bn) bid for Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
The bid has been met by opposition from key shareholders, including controlling shareholder the Bancroft family and the Ottoway family, which controls 6.2% of the Dow Jones's super-voting stock.
In a statement released on the weekend by James Ottoway Jr, the head of the family, said that they opposed the sale of the business at any price, arguing that Murdoch would damage editorial integrity.
"Rupert Murdoch comes from a very different tradition of Australian-British media ownership and editorial practice in which he has for a long time expressed his personal, political, and business biases through his newspapers and television channels," he wrote.
Fairfax shares closed at A$5.12 yesterday, down 14 cents. News Corp was up 27 cents at $23,85 at close in the US.
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