Fayez Sarofim & Co Lowers Stock Position in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its stake in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX - Free Report) by 26.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,242 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,833 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in FOX were worth $2,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FOX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in FOX by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,336,198 shares of the company's stock worth $655,738,000 after acquiring an additional 425,868 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in FOX by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,706,386 shares of the company's stock worth $261,010,000 after acquiring an additional 759,874 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in FOX by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,224,397 shares of the company's stock worth $147,122,000 after acquiring an additional 114,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in FOX during the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,822,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in FOX by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,970,917 shares of the company's stock worth $135,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.41% of the company's stock.

FOX Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FOX traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.79. The stock had a trading volume of 789,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,649. The firm's fifty day moving average is $49.05 and its 200 day moving average is $46.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.50. Fox Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $55.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.35. FOX had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 18.50%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fox Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. FOX's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $3,083,860.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,200,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,849,832.54. This represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $69,178.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,324.61. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Moffett Nathanson lowered shares of FOX from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

FOX Company Profile

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses 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.