Insider Selling: Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Insider Sells $46,268.04 in Stock

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) insider Dan Lanzano sold 247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.32, for a total transaction of $46,268.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 431 shares in the company, valued at $80,734.92. This trade represents a 36.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Dan Lanzano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Dan Lanzano sold 237 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.37, for a total transaction of $46,539.69.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 4.0%

NXST opened at $178.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.72. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $254.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.97.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NXST. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $290.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.67.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,738,000 after buying an additional 10,949 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,181,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,950,000 after buying an additional 23,360 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,598,000 after buying an additional 187,864 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,114,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 643,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,427,000 after buying an additional 11,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.