The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 7.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,907 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $4,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,189,000 after purchasing an additional 62,331 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 18.1% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 547,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,567,000 after purchasing an additional 83,829 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 201,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,524,000 after buying an additional 9,084 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $170.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $169.93 and a 200 day moving average of $167.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.56 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 24.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 4,331 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.64, for a total value of $739,041.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,358,145.60. This represents a 14.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Muse sold 2,385 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.16, for a total value of $405,831.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,420,416.48. This trade represents a 8.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,423 shares of company stock worth $7,916,739 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

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.