Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 190,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,322,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 502,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,063,000 after buying an additional 66,645 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 238,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,218,000 after buying an additional 145,617 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 519.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,406,000 after buying an additional 43,322 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 5,121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total transaction of $341,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,452.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Nexstar Media Group news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total value of $341,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,452.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NXST shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.83.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $159.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $132.30 and a one year high of $187.32.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.42 by ($1.10). The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The business’s revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 70.20%.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc operates as a diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across the television and digital platforms in the United States. It owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to various markets; and offers television programming services.