Westpac Banking Corp Buys 742 Shares of Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 84.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,625 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in FOX were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FOX. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of FOX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,027,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in FOX by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,224,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,122,000 after buying an additional 114,442 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in FOX by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 71,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,270,000 after buying an additional 27,160 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in FOX by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 313,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in FOX by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.41% of the company’s stock.

FOX Stock Performance

Shares of FOX stock opened at $45.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.73 and a 200-day moving average of $45.39. The company has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Fox Co. has a 52 week low of $27.63 and a 52 week high of $55.00.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fox Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. FOX’s payout ratio is 11.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FOX news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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. 23.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Moffett Nathanson downgraded FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

About FOX

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.