The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,266 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Nexstar Media Group worth $3,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,650,000 after buying an additional 1,202,453 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,227,000 after purchasing an additional 768,934 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth about $44,460,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,560,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,684,000 after purchasing an additional 142,520 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $164.35 on Friday. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.66 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.20. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 34.56%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $704,409.75. This represents a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total transaction of $339,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,312.25. This trade represents a 28.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.71.

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.