Hall Laurie J Trustee Grows Stock Holdings in The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT)

Hall Laurie J Trustee grew its holdings in The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT – Get Rating) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 78,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in New York Times were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NYT. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of New York Times in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of New York Times by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New York Times in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. FourThought Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of New York Times in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of New York Times by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. 99.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NYT shares. Barclays upgraded shares of New York Times from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of New York Times from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of New York Times in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of New York Times from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of New York Times from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, December 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, New York Times has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New York Times news, CFO Roland A. Caputo sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $493,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,478,922.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other New York Times news, CEO Levien Meredith A. Kopit sold 29,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $1,191,807.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 74,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,988,130.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Roland A. Caputo sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $493,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,478,922.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

New York Times Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYT opened at $36.86 on Friday. The New York Times Company has a 12-month low of $27.58 and a 12-month high of $47.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11 and a beta of 0.99.

New York Times Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 5th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 4th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from New York Times’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. New York Times’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.29%.

New York Times announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 8th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About New York Times

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The New York Times Co is a media organization, which engages in creating, collecting, and distributing news and information. It offers news products and other interest-specific products, and related content and services. It offers newspapers, print, and digital products and investments. The firm also manages The New York Times, NYTimes.com, and mobile applications.