Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Sold by Adelante Capital Management LLC

Adelante Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,420 shares during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of LAMR stock traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.93. The stock had a trading volume of 815,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,496. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $99.84 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $113.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 1.34.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. On average, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LAMR shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.60.

About Lamar Advertising

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.