Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 96,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $12,838,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 444.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LAMR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $126.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.38. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $95.83 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

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.