Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 11,230 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,230 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $3,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 249.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 0.5 %

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $114.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.20. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $121.99. The stock has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52 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 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $555.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

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.