WS Management Lllp Sells 35,971 Shares of Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Key Points

• WS Management Lllp has reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising Company by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, owning 134,782 shares which now represent 1.7% of its portfolio.
• Corporate insider Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares at an average price of $124.28, totaling over $2.7 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with Citigroup upgrading it to a "buy" with a price target of $135, while others like JPMorgan Chase downgraded their target to $122.

WS Management Lllp reduced its position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 35,971 shares during the quarter. Lamar Advertising makes up approximately 1.7% of WS Management Lllp's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. WS Management Lllp owned 0.13% of Lamar Advertising worth $15,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $155,632,000 after acquiring an additional 428,744 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the first quarter worth about $40,699,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 181.7% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 363,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,410,000 after buying an additional 234,735 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 269.4% during the first quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 158,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,061,000 after buying an additional 115,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 313,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,181,000 after buying an additional 89,236 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 accessible through the SEC website. 14.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. 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 report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.20.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.9%

LAMR traded up $1.12 on Friday, reaching $127.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 497,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,395. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. The company has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.36. Lamar Advertising Company has a fifty-two week low of $99.84 and a fifty-two week high of $139.88.

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

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

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

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.