HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 27,823 Shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 4.3%, holding a total of 674,089 shares worth approximately $76.7 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on LAMR, with price targets ranging from $119.00 to $135.00, indicating mixed ratings including four holds and two buys.
• Lamar Advertising announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55, equating to an annual yield of 5.3%, despite a high payout ratio of 144.19%.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 674,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 27,823 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.66% of Lamar Advertising worth $76,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,212,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 270.2% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 53,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,490,000 after buying an additional 38,912 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,023,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 277 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 38,287 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,661,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LAMR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.20.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $121.22. 706,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 597,363. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $122.43 and its 200-day moving average is $119.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. Lamar Advertising Company has a 1-year low of $99.84 and a 1-year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 41.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.