Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 259,979 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 148.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 434,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 259,979 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned 0.42% of Lamar Advertising worth $58,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 1.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $130.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,544. The stock has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.52. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $97.54 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.77. 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 (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAMR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.40.

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.