Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 10.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,456,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 17.0% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 54,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,562,000 after buying an additional 7,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 8.3% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $127.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.08. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $102.10 and a 1-year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. The business had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.40.

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.