Brandes Investment Partners LP Acquires 225,768 Shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 21.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,273,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225,768 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in FOX were worth $40,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

FOX Price Performance

FOX stock opened at $38.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.65. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $39.09.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. 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 the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fox Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This is an increase from FOX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FOX news, COO John Nallen sold 52,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,717,559.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other FOX 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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lachlan K. Murdoch acquired 119,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 owns 1,076,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,044,457.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 19.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.