Franklin Resources Inc. Has $7.37 Million Stake in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOXA) by 108.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,342 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,244 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in FOX were worth $7,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in FOX in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of FOX in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of FOX during the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FOX during the 3rd quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in FOX in the third quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors own 52.52% of the company’s stock.

FOX Stock Performance

FOXA stock opened at $49.53 on Monday. Fox Co. has a 1-year low of $28.28 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.59. The firm has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOXA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. FOX had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fox Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FOXA. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of FOX from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of FOX from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on FOX from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on FOX from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John Nallen sold 182,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $7,979,894.13. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 249,424 shares in the company, valued at $10,907,311.52. This trade represents a 42.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Keith Rupert Murdoch sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $4,205,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,258,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,935,147.10. This trade represents a 7.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 469,352 shares of company stock valued at $20,822,072 over the last ninety days. 21.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.