AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in The New York Times Company $NYT

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The New York Times Company by 101.6%, acquiring an additional 1,184,729 shares and now holds approximately 1.44% of the company worth $115.6 million.
• The New York Times reported earnings of $0.58 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and presenting a 9.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding about 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 37.11%.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT - Free Report) by 101.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,351,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,184,729 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.44% of New York Times worth $115,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in New York Times by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,987,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $792,975,000 after acquiring an additional 187,056 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of New York Times by 7.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,392,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,492,000 after purchasing an additional 698,433 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of New York Times by 19.0% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,018,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,716,000 after purchasing an additional 481,682 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of New York Times by 8.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,707,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,292,000 after purchasing an additional 211,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of New York Times by 65.2% in the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,325,224 shares of the company's stock worth $115,331,000 after purchasing an additional 917,766 shares in the last quarter. 95.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at New York Times

In other New York Times news, EVP Jacqueline M. Welch sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.04, for a total transaction of $330,220.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,470 shares in the company, valued at $868,778.80. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Bardeen sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $290,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,243 shares in the company, valued at $652,543.72. This trade represents a 30.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

New York Times Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NYT traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 802,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,500,644. The New York Times Company has a 12 month low of $44.83 and a 12 month high of $62.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.71 and a 200-day moving average of $53.31. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08. New York Times had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The firm had revenue of $685.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The New York Times Company will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

New York Times Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. New York Times's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NYT shares. Barclays set a $52.00 price objective on New York Times and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on New York Times from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on New York Times from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of New York Times in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of New York Times from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, New York Times has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.33.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company, together with its subsidiaries, creates, collects, and distributes news and information worldwide. The company operates through two segments, The New York Times Group and The Athletic. It offers The New York Times (The Times) through company's mobile application, website, printed newspaper, and associated content, such as podcast.