Capital World Investors Lowers Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Capital World Investors decreased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,203,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 801,711 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 1.18% of Lamar Advertising worth $146,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,101 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $200,093,000 after purchasing an additional 90,933 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,503 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,017,000 after purchasing an additional 14,672 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAMR. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.1 %

LAMR stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.12. 535,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 654,551. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $99.84 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.14 and a 200-day moving average of $123.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.53%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's payout ratio 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.