Hamlin Capital Management LLC Sells 3,704 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,268,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,704 shares during the period. Lamar Advertising accounts for 3.8% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $154,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $125.25 on Tuesday. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $102.10 and a 1 year high of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $126.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.08.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.00%.

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.