Independent Franchise Partners LLP lessened its stake in shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA – Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,957,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,541 shares during the quarter. FOX comprises about 5.8% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 3.55% of FOX worth $645,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in FOX by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 20,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in FOX by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 56,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in FOX by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in FOX by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in FOX by 196.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.93% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of FOX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of FOX from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of FOX in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of FOX in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of FOX from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.50.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Viet D. Dinh sold 231,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.40, for a total value of $7,744,291.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,777.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Viet D. Dinh sold 231,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.40, for a total value of $7,744,291.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,777.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 141,367 shares of FOX stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.84 per share, for a total transaction of $4,783,859.28. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 956,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,374,795.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 19.86% of the company’s stock.
FOX Trading Down 6.3 %
NASDAQ FOXA traded down $2.08 on Monday, hitting $30.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,248,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,621,133. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Fox Co. has a 1-year low of $28.01 and a 1-year high of $37.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.52 and its 200 day moving average is $33.33. The firm has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.86.
FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.17. FOX had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fox Co. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
FOX Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 30th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from FOX’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.25. This represents a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is 22.41%.
FOX Company Profile
Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through Cable Network Programming; Television; and Other, Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, and sports content for distribution through traditional cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators, and telecommunication companies, virtual multi-channel video programming distributors, and other digital platforms primarily in the U.S.