Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $110.22 Million Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 108.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 470,805 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $110,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 109.3% in the 3rd 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 position in 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 acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $125.28 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.99. Lamar Advertising has a fifty-two week low of $108.80 and a fifty-two week high of $139.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 1.53.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LAMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.