Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Position Trimmed by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY reduced its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 387,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,072 shares during the quarter. Lamar Advertising comprises approximately 1.5% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.38% of Lamar Advertising worth $46,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at about $111,255,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,953,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $313,871,000 after buying an additional 727,207 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,693,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,352,000 after purchasing an additional 512,182 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 913,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,347,000 after acquiring an additional 451,429 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth $38,406,000. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAMR. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $117.90. 399,999 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,937. The company has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $116.73 and a 200 day moving average of $112.18. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $122.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.71). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.86% and a net margin of 23.29%. The company had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John E. Koerner III sold 17,000 shares of Lamar Advertising stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.05, for a total transaction of $2,040,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,862,968.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 14.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.