Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $21,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth $2,488,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $57,255,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,076,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LAMR opened at $112.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.99. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $108.80 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAMR shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

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.