Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 45.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,974,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $263,840,000 after acquiring an additional 617,356 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,220,000 after purchasing an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $57,255,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,023,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 631.7% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 180,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,088,000 after buying an additional 155,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 4.0 %

LAMR stock opened at $105.03 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $102.95 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The company has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.35.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 175.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

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.