Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Purchased by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,822 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,953,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $313,871,000 after purchasing an additional 727,207 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 512,182 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 913,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,347,000 after purchasing an additional 451,429 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1,252.8% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 340,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,154,000 after purchasing an additional 315,034 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LAMR shares. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In related news, Director John E. Koerner III sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.05, for a total transaction of $2,040,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,862,968.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 1.2 %

Lamar Advertising stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $114.61. 298,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,297. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $77.21 and a 52-week high of $122.22. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.59.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.86% and a net margin of 23.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. 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.