Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 34,776 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,693,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,352,000 after acquiring an additional 512,182 shares during the period. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC now owns 477,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,827,000 after purchasing an additional 268,934 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 146.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 390,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,626,000 after purchasing an additional 232,135 shares during the last quarter. Makaira Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Makaira Partners LLC now owns 756,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,159,000 after buying an additional 182,111 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,233,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $117.51 on Wednesday. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $77.21 and a 12 month high of $121.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.49.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.78%.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

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.