Swiss National Bank Sells 2,500 Shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising Company by 1.4%, holding 170,338 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million after selling 2,500 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.22, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue of $579.31 million fell slightly short of the consensus estimate.
• Lamar Advertising announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55, translating to an annualized dividend of $6.20, resulting in a dividend yield of 5.3% and a payout ratio of 144.19%.

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.17% of Lamar Advertising worth $19,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $155,632,000 after acquiring an additional 428,744 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,023,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2,424.4% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 229,422 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,930,000 after acquiring an additional 220,334 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 269.4% in the 1st quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 158,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,061,000 after acquiring an additional 115,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 313,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $121.22. 706,928 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,363. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. Lamar Advertising Company has a twelve month low of $99.84 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $122.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.28.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 41.85%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on LAMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.20.

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.