Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 3,959 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,959 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter worth $1,977,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,311 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Balentine LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAMR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $120.30. 176,938 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 408,102. The company has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56 and a beta of 1.49. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $77.21 and a one year high of $122.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.08.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). The firm had revenue of $498.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John E. Koerner III sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.05, for a total transaction of $2,040,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,862,968.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the completion of 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 available at this link. Also, Director John E. Koerner III sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.05, for a total transaction of $2,040,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,862,968.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

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.