AIA Group Ltd Has $3.95 Million Stock Position in The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its stake in The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in New York Times were worth $3,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of New York Times by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of New York Times in the fourth quarter worth $763,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of New York Times in the fourth quarter worth $2,254,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New York Times in the fourth quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of New York Times in the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.37% of the company’s stock.

New York Times Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NYT traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.71. 410,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,279,857. The firm has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.69. The New York Times Company has a 12 month low of $35.06 and a 12 month high of $49.87.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $676.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.02 million. New York Times had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 9.58%. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The New York Times Company will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This is a boost from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New York Times

In other New York Times news, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 13,543 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.11, for a total transaction of $597,381.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,003,379.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Diane Brayton sold 7,000 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total value of $299,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,684,126.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 13,543 shares of New York Times stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.11, for a total value of $597,381.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,003,379.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,557 shares of company stock valued at $1,029,968. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NYT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of New York Times from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of New York Times in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of New York Times from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.67.

New York Times Profile

The New York Times Company, together with its subsidiaries, creates, collects, and distributes news and information worldwide. The company operates through two segments, The New York Times Group and The Athletic. It offers The New York Times (The Times) through company's mobile application, website, printed newspaper, and associated content, such as podcast.