Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 154 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,453 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,103,000 after purchasing an additional 18,675 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 403,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,777,000 after purchasing an additional 19,116 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,560,000. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,736,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total value of $219,917.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $704,409.75. The trade was a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,203,582.54. This trade represents a 7.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 126,250 shares of company stock valued at $20,450,616. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NXST stock opened at $174.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.04 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.82.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

About Nexstar Media Group

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.