The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,748 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in FOX were worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at FOX

In other FOX news, 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 value of $2,059,971.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.06 per share, for a total transaction of $4,675,677.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of FOX stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.96, for a total value of $2,059,971.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $9,717,559.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 19.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

FOX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FOX opened at $38.49 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81. Fox Co. has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $39.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.33.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. FOX had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fox Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. FOX’s payout ratio is presently 16.93%.

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.