Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,052,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,502 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.01% of Nexstar Media Group worth $547,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 830.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 62.3% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2,126.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 186.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 68.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $100,802.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,233,044. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $84,277.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,842.25. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,474 shares of company stock valued at $3,666,988 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NXST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST opened at $211.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.66 and a 52 week high of $212.44.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.63%.

About Nexstar Media Group

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.