Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stake Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Lamar Advertising worth $24,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR stock opened at $121.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.59. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $107.22 and a 1-year high of $139.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54 and a beta of 1.51.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 175.64%.

Lamar Advertising 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.