Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,124,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 124,607 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 4.04% of Lamar Advertising worth $438,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth $393,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 301,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,150,000 after buying an additional 24,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 4.2% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $117.54. The company had a trading volume of 348,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,704. Lamar Advertising has a fifty-two week low of $77.21 and a fifty-two week high of $121.99. The company has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.58 and its 200 day moving average is $105.31.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. 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 4.42%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LAMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, 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.

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.