Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,248,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,617 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of OUTFRONT Media worth $36,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OUT. FMR LLC boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 132.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,604,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,819,000 after buying an additional 8,892,411 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 5,243,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,632 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,115,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,005,000 after purchasing an additional 342,413 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,146,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,820,000 after purchasing an additional 64,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,054,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,184,000 after purchasing an additional 15,455 shares during the last quarter.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:OUT opened at $17.14 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.95 and a 1-year high of $19.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.87.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $390.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.17 million. Equities analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. OUTFRONT Media’s payout ratio is 78.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OUT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on OUTFRONT Media from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 20,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.88, for a total transaction of $319,330.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 70,836 shares in the company, valued at $1,124,875.68. The trade was a 22.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media, Inc leases advertising space on out-of-home advertising structures and sites. Its inventory consists of billboard displays, which are primarily located on the most heavily traveled highways & roadways, and transit advertising displays operated under exclusive multi-year contracts with municipalities in large cities across the U.S.