Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Has $9.54 Million Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,799 shares during the quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Lamar Advertising worth $9,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $200,093,000 after acquiring an additional 90,933 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,017,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $113.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24 and a beta of 1.34. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $99.84 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 issued 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. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.45%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 175.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAMR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

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.