Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 18,977 Shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,977 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in FOX were worth $7,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in FOX in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FOX by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 16,950 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FOX by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of FOX by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 554,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,452,000 after purchasing an additional 45,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of FOX by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 822,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,801,000 after purchasing an additional 152,508 shares during the last quarter. 52.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Price Performance

FOXA opened at $54.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.03. Fox Co. has a 12-month low of $30.02 and a 12-month high of $58.74.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. FOX had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 18.50%. FOX’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fox Co. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a yield of 1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. FOX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FOXA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of FOX from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of FOX in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on FOX from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered FOX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of FOX and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at FOX

In other FOX news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of FOX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $69,178.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,324.61. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $3,083,860.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,200,862 shares in the company, valued at $63,849,832.54. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 21.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

FOX 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.