International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New $6.19 Million Investment in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 58,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,190,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 106.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 8,912 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 25.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 23.6% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 42,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 10.9% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 51,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,052 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $111.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.59. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $77.21 and a one year high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 107.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAMR. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

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.