Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 269 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 3.6% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.8% in the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 6,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 27,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,301,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.9% in the second quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.6 %

LAMR opened at $132.93 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.78. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $77.79 and a 1-year high of $137.40. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The firm had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LAMR shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.00.

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.