Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 32,542 Shares of Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.38 million shares valued at about $301.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 93.78% of Lamar Advertising’s stock; several firms, including M&T Bank and AQR, also increased their positions.
• Lamar Advertising posted a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $1.00 EPS versus $0.82 expected, and it recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equal to a 4.3% annualized yield.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,382,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 32,542 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.35% of Lamar Advertising worth $301,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAMR. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 12,278.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,147,876 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,603 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 123.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $177,152,000 after purchasing an additional 816,217 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth $88,615,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 97.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 991,990 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $121,439,000 after purchasing an additional 490,463 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 23.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,629,554 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $199,490,000 after purchasing an additional 314,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price target on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $150.00 price target on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ross Lamar Reilly sold 5,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.65, for a total value of $767,911.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,850 shares in the company, valued at $2,039,102.50. This represents a 27.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR opened at $150.47 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $138.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.51. Lamar Advertising Company has a 1 year low of $113.66 and a 1 year high of $158.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 1.20.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.18. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 24.01%.The company had revenue of $528.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.86 million. Research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.08%.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company NASDAQ: LAMR is one of North America's largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.

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