Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $114.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.60. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $108.80 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.