Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $896,000 Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 19,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 10,241 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,745,000 after buying an additional 6,637 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth $48,023,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $125.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $108.80 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $124.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.93.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LAMR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

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.