Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Position Lowered by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 712,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,749 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.30% of Nexstar Media Group worth $112,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NXST. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 111.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 627 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.43.

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Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total transaction of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $685,700.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,405 shares in the company, valued at $983,601.90. This represents a 41.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded down $13.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.42. 930,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 358,800. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.04 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.89. 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 (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.