Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $6.34 Million Stock Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 546 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $6,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAMR. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 453.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $323,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180,011 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,890,000 after purchasing an additional 545,606 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,220,000 after purchasing an additional 470,805 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,632,000 after purchasing an additional 428,744 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LAMR stock opened at $118.89 on Wednesday. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $99.84 and a 1 year high of $139.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.72 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.21%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 150.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAMR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.60.

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.