BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 58,834 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,664 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 58,834 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $4,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 453.6% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $672,890,000 after buying an additional 545,606 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $110,220,000 after buying an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $155,632,000 after acquiring an additional 428,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.2%

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $118.89 on Wednesday. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $99.84 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.72 million. Analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LAMR. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.60.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.

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