Fox Corporation $FOXA Stock: Vest Financial LLC Cuts Stake

Key Points

• Vest Financial cut its Fox Corporation stake by 65.8% in the third quarter, selling 235,506 shares and retaining 122,418 shares valued at approximately $7.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 52.52% of FOXA.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $78.12 target price, although recent recommendations have ranged from “Strong Buy” to “Sector Weight.”
• Fox reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.79 per share and revenue of $4.21 billion, up 28.1% year over year. CEO Lachlan Murdoch also purchased nearly $10.3 million of shares, increasing his position by 11.98%.

Vest Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA - Free Report) by 65.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,418 shares of the company's stock after selling 235,506 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in FOX were worth $7,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FOXA. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in FOX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in FOX in the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in FOX in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,049,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of FOX during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,395,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of FOX during the 3rd quarter valued at $741,000. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FOXA. Citigroup started coverage on shares of FOX in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded FOX from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer cut shares of FOX to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of FOX to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of FOX to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at FOX

In other news, CEO Lachlan Murdoch acquired 149,934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.53 per share, with a total value of $10,274,977.02. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,401,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,059,391.89. This represents a 11.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

FOX Stock Up 3.7%

FOXA opened at $68.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Fox Corporation has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $76.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.17.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.35. FOX had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Fox Corporation will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 86.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. FOX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.14%.

About FOX

Fox Corporation NASDAQ: FOXA is a U.S. media and entertainment company that produces and distributes news, sports, and entertainment programming. Its portfolio includes FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations, and the ad-supported streaming service Tubi.

FOX News Media operates FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, and related digital platforms. FOX Sports provides national and regional sports programming, while FOX Entertainment develops and distributes scripted and unscripted television content.

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