Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Sold by Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 97.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,324 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NXST. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,448,000 after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth approximately $3,747,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,563,262.73. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,768 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $685,700.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,601.90. This trade represents a 41.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ NXST opened at $147.50 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.32 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.43.

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.