Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,434 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR traded down $1.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.61. 509,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 488,617. 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 company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48 and a beta of 1.34. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $99.84 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The company's 50-day moving average is $116.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.16.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.64%.

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.