Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.33 Million Stock Position in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fox Co. (NASDAQ:FOX) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,205 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,864 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in FOX were worth $8,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of FOX during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of FOX by 136.9% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 777 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FOX by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of FOX during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of FOX during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.41% of the company’s stock.

FOX Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FOX opened at $54.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.22. Fox Co. has a twelve month low of $25.82 and a twelve month high of $54.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.82.

FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.35. FOX had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 14.39%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Fox Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

FOX Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. FOX’s payout ratio is presently 11.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Adam G. Ciongoli sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $69,178.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,324.61. This represents a 4.10 % 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 58,000 shares of FOX stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.17, for a total transaction of $3,083,860.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,200,862 shares in the company, valued at $63,849,832.54. This represents a 4.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 23.06% of the company’s stock.

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.