Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Position Decreased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,798 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of Nexstar Media Group worth $7,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NXST. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1,801.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 17,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,722,000 after purchasing an additional 16,324 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at $506,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $3,747,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 16.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,051 shares of the company's stock worth $7,448,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,264,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NXST traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $149.72. 43,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,722. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.32 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.37.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NXST shares. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $685,700.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $983,601.90. This represents a 41.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total value of $219,917.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $704,409.75. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.