Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Sells 4,913 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,913 shares during the quarter. Lamar Advertising makes up about 1.4% of Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 249.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock traded up $1.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $114.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 188,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,195. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $121.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.25 and its 200-day moving average is $104.67.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.