Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Position Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,672 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.05% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,248,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $567,632,000 after buying an additional 119,068 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,640,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $352,752,000 after acquiring an additional 21,852 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,054,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $274,595,000 after acquiring an additional 90,775 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 45.5% during the third 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,283,000 after purchasing an additional 75,955 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $122.99 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.40. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $100.15 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released 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 return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAMR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.