Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 420,311 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 81.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 420,311 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.92% of Lamar Advertising worth $112,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,255,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 913,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,347,000 after purchasing an additional 451,429 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,406,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 1,252.8% during the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 340,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,154,000 after purchasing an additional 315,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,708,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,517,554,000 after purchasing an additional 68,484 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR opened at $130.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.22. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The firm had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 114.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAMR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.25.

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.