Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Sells 1,881 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,881 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,974,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $263,840,000 after purchasing an additional 617,356 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $43,665,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 49,140.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 285,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,090,000 after acquiring an additional 284,523 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 434,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,058,000 after acquiring an additional 259,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 631.7% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 180,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,088,000 after acquiring an additional 155,656 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $127.73 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $102.10 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

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.