Independent Franchise Partners LLP Acquires 597,450 Shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,495,954 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 597,450 shares during the period. FOX comprises about 5.9% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s holdings in FOX were worth $635,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of FOX by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,880,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $934,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,913 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of FOX by 5.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,577,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,816,000 after buying an additional 481,267 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of FOX by 7.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,180,000 after acquiring an additional 268,778 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of FOX during the fourth quarter worth $68,391,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in FOX by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,294,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,068,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,911 shares in the last quarter. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at FOX

In other news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total transaction of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total transaction of $2,059,971.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $9,717,559.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch purchased 119,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.06 per share, with a total value of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 21.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on FOX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on FOX from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of FOX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of FOX from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FOX presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.23.

FOX Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of FOXA stock opened at $40.21 on Friday. Fox Co. has a 52-week low of $28.28 and a 52-week high of $41.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.18 and its 200-day moving average is $34.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.54.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.07. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Fox Co. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from FOX’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. FOX’s payout ratio is 16.93%.

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.