Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,160 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Nexstar Media Group worth $10,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 519,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,442,000 after purchasing an additional 16,928 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 738.8% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 506,212 shares of the company's stock worth $72,576,000 after buying an additional 445,859 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 249,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,796,000 after acquiring an additional 103,636 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 238,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,218,000 after acquiring an additional 145,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 10.0% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 208,946 shares of the company's stock worth $29,957,000 after acquiring an additional 19,054 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nexstar Media Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $221.00 in a report on Monday. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.00.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Monday, hitting $174.21. The stock had a trading volume of 354,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,244. The company's 50-day moving average price is $165.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.39. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.30 and a twelve month high of $187.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.19%.

Insider Activity

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.61, for a total value of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,543,006.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.61, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,006.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction 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. Insiders sold 46,508 shares of company stock worth $7,487,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

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.