Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 51,218 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 335,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 51,218 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $35,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth $30,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 93.0% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.7 %

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $111.44 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $121.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

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. On average, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.