Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 11,230 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,230 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $3,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter worth about $1,217,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,681 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAMR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 14.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $114.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 1.50. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $555.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 107.22%.

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.