Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 669.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,767 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,368 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 190,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,322,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 502,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,063,000 after acquiring an additional 66,645 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 156.5% during the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 238,670 shares of the company's stock worth $34,218,000 after purchasing an additional 145,617 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 519.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,659 shares of the company's stock worth $7,406,000 after purchasing an additional 43,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 636,788 shares in the company, valued at $101,032,784.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.61, for a total value of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,543,006.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 636,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,032,784.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NXST. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.83.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded down $3.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.78. 255,181 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,289. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.63. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.30 and a 1-year high of $187.32.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.42 by ($1.10). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm's revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is presently 70.20%.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

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.