Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stake Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,038 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of Lamar Advertising stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 14.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LAMR. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR opened at $112.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.22%.

Lamar Advertising Profile

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals.