Bank of Montreal Can Increases Holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 135,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,391 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in FOX were worth $4,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of FOX by 14.5% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,023,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,863,000 after acquiring an additional 636,247 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in FOX by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,326,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,483,000 after purchasing an additional 272,743 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in FOX in the second quarter worth about $65,709,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of FOX by 7.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,535,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,953,000 after buying an additional 111,687 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of FOX by 22.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,119,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,638,000 after buying an additional 201,783 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at FOX

In other FOX news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $9,717,559.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,717,559.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 19.21% of the company’s stock.

FOX Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ FOX opened at $39.00 on Wednesday. Fox Co. has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $39.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. FOX had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 10.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fox Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This is an increase from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

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.