Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,742 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 50.0% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 390,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,500,000 after buying an additional 22,778 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 90,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after buying an additional 9,640 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 13.7% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $114.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released 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). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $555.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.22%.

Insider Transactions at Lamar Advertising

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Lamar Advertising Company 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.