AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Lamar Advertising worth $15,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $672,890,000 after acquiring an additional 545,606 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 453.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $323,900,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,011 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Lamar Advertising by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,423,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $295,122,000 after buying an additional 152,575 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $257,414,000 after acquiring an additional 59,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $200,093,000 after buying an additional 90,933 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.81. The stock had a trading volume of 936,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,172. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 1.38. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.46. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $99.84 and a one year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $509.72 million. Research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on LAMR shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.60.

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.