Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Increases Stock Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 677,406 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $82,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 18,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth about $341,000. Finally, Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock opened at $112.55 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $108.80 and a 1 year high of $139.88. 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 market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAMR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

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.