Palouse Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Lamar Advertising comprises approximately 2.7% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $3,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAMR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In related news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of Lamar Advertising stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 14.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.44. 290,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 410,811. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98 and a beta of 1.50. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $121.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.49). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 107.22%.

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.