Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,616 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Lamar Advertising worth $8,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LAMR shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $113.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20 and a beta of 1.34. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $99.84 and a one year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. Analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 175.64%.

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.