Makaira Partners LLC Sells 188,415 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Makaira Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 530,483 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 188,415 shares during the quarter. Lamar Advertising accounts for about 9.0% of Makaira Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Makaira Partners LLC owned 0.52% of Lamar Advertising worth $64,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 2,424.4% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 229,422 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,930,000 after acquiring an additional 220,334 shares during the period. Crossingbridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,826,000. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 19,682 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,396,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 70,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,560,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,988 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 2,729 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of LAMR stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $114.00. The company had a trading volume of 951,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,005. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $114.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $99.84 and a one year high of $139.88. The company has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 1.34.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's payout ratio is currently 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.