Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Stock Position in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 70.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,617 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in FOX were worth $2,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of FOX by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 33,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 14,099 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in FOX in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,766,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in FOX by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in FOX by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 71,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 17,349 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in FOX in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,697,000. 26.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FOX Price Performance

FOX stock opened at $49.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.14. Fox Co. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $55.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.51.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fox Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

FOX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. FOX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,200,862 shares in the company, valued at $63,849,832.54. The trade was a 4.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,324.61. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Moffett Nathanson cut shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

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.