Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.11% of Lamar Advertising worth $11,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $393,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 301,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,150,000 after buying an additional 24,649 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 4.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 55,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In related news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $117.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $121.99. The company has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.39.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $555.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

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.