Venturi Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 445 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at $43,665,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 6.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,093,000 after acquiring an additional 90,933 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 19,961.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after acquiring an additional 109,790 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 39.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,017,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 96.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 97,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,026,000 after acquiring an additional 47,746 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $121.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.74 and its 200 day moving average is $127.31. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $107.22 and a 1 year high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 112.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAMR. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.40.

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.