Crossingbridge Advisors LLC Invests $1.83 Million in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Crossingbridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,826,000. Lamar Advertising makes up 0.6% of Crossingbridge Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LAMR. FMR LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $672,890,000 after purchasing an additional 545,606 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 453.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $323,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180,011 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,423,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $295,122,000 after purchasing an additional 152,575 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,114,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $257,414,000 after purchasing an additional 59,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $200,093,000 after buying an additional 90,933 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Five research 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 an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.60.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $114.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 443,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,576. The stock has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.31. 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 has a 52 week low of $99.84 and a 52 week high of $139.88.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business 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 is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.64%.

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.