Swiss National Bank Has $21.04 Million Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $21,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 109.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.8 %

LAMR stock opened at $114.47 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.60. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $108.80 and a one year high of $139.88. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43 and a beta of 1.53.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The firm had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.42%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAMR has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

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.