AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 3,720 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,349 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Lamar Advertising worth $15,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $114.81. 936,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,770. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $99.84 and a 12 month high of $139.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $112.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $505.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.72 million. Analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.55 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's payout ratio is presently 150.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.60.

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.