The New York Times Company $NYT Shares Sold by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in The New York Times Company by 55.3%, now holding 5,484 shares valued at $307,000 after selling 6,785 shares in the second quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold a substantial 95.37% of the company's stock, indicating a strong interest from large investment firms.
• The New York Times Company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.58, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.08, with revenue growth of 9.7% year-over-year.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT - Free Report) by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,484 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,785 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in New York Times were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in New York Times by 690.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 846 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in New York Times during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in New York Times by 79.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,675 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in New York Times during the first quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in New York Times during the first quarter worth approximately $115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jacqueline M. Welch sold 5,500 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.04, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Bardeen sold 5,000 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $290,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $652,543.72. This trade represents a 30.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

New York Times Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYT opened at $55.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $57.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.58. The New York Times Company has a 12-month low of $44.83 and a 12-month high of $62.24.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $685.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm 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, equities research analysts forecast that The New York Times Company will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New York Times Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 8th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 8th. New York Times's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of New York Times from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays set a $52.00 price objective on shares of New York Times and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of New York Times from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.33.

New York Times Profile

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.

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