Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 658 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $4,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth about $111,255,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% in 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 buying an additional 451,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after buying an additional 420,311 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1,252.8% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 340,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,154,000 after acquiring an additional 315,034 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $133.54 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $134.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.44.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.00.

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.