Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 1,284 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Lamar Advertising worth $7,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $113.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 1.53. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $108.80 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

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