New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,737 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,856 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,217,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 14.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Lamar Advertising Trading Down 3.0 %
LAMR stock traded down $3.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.08. The stock had a trading volume of 641,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,358. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $121.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $114.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.49.
Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. The firm had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's payout ratio is 107.22%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LAMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Lamar Advertising
About Lamar Advertising
(
Free Report)
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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