American Century Companies Inc. Has $6 Million Stock Position in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising Company by 81.6%, leaving them with approximately 52,763 shares valued at about $6 million.
• Lamar Advertising reported better-than-expected earnings per share of $2.22 for the most recent quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.48.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, representing a dividend yield of 4.9%.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 81.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 233,319 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Lamar Advertising worth $6,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAMR. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $155,632,000 after purchasing an additional 428,744 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,699,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 269.4% during the 1st quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 158,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,061,000 after purchasing an additional 115,762 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 313,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 10,231.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 78,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,946,000 after purchasing an additional 77,861 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.28. The company had a trading volume of 301,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,715. The company has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $123.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.09. Lamar Advertising Company has a twelve month low of $99.84 and a twelve month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.85% and a net margin of 19.72%.The firm had revenue of $579.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.090-6.11 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Lamar Advertising's payout ratio is 144.19%.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.28, for a total transaction of $2,734,160.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.20.

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.