Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,179 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth about $393,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth about $238,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 389,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,479,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 17.0% in the third quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 5,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamar Advertising

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of LAMR traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.46. The company had a trading volume of 90,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,393. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.88. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $77.21 and a 52 week high of $121.99. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 1.50.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 107.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAMR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

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.