Prudential PLC Sells 10,472 Shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA)

Prudential PLC reduced its stake in shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) by 24.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,472 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in FOX were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in FOX by 176.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of FOX by 254.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of FOX by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of FOX in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of FOX in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 52.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

FOX Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of FOXA stock opened at $38.91 on Friday. Fox Co. has a 1 year low of $28.28 and a 1 year high of $41.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.76.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.07. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fox Co. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from FOX’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on FOX from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on FOX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of FOX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of FOX from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FOX presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.23.

FOX 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.