Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Takes $1.38 Million Position in The New York Times Company $NYT

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired 27,800 shares of The New York Times Company, valued at approximately $1,379,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings significantly, with AQR Capital Management growing its position by 101.6% to own 2,351,100 shares valued at $115,627,000.
• The New York Times recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.58, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased by 9.7% year-over-year to $685.90 million.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 27,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,379,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NYT. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in New York Times by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,929 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of New York Times by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 32,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of New York Times by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of New York Times by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 77,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,035,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in New York Times by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.37% of the company's stock.

New York Times Price Performance

New York Times stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.91. 1,372,577 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,357,095. The New York Times Company has a fifty-two week low of $44.83 and a fifty-two week high of $62.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $56.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.60.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $685.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.22 million. New York Times had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. New York Times's dividend payout ratio is 37.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on NYT shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of New York Times in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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. Barclays set a $52.00 price objective on shares of New York Times and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of New York Times from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of New York Times from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jacqueline M. Welch sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.04, for a total transaction of $330,220.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $868,778.80. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Bardeen sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.04, for a total transaction of $290,200.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

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.