HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 42,174 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,174 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $12,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total transaction of $5,707,786.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. The trade was a 4.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total transaction of $52,215.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,360.30. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 161,455 shares of company stock valued at $26,158,403 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $169.88 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $157.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $146.04 and a one year high of $191.86. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NXST shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Company 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.