CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,866 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $115.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 1.53. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $108.80 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup upped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.