Capital Investment Counsel LLC Has $7.75 Million Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Capital Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,038 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. Lamar Advertising makes up about 1.3% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAMR. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after buying an additional 420,311 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,665,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 49,140.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 285,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,090,000 after purchasing an additional 284,523 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 42,096.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,856,000 after purchasing an additional 125,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,838,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $130.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.41 and its 200-day moving average is $123.73. The company has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $97.54 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

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.