Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR Shares Purchased by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Lamar Advertising worth $24,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.6% in the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 14,426 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,827,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 2,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAMR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.50.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock traded down $7.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.18. The company had a trading volume of 714,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 640,163. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $151.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.32. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 1.19. Lamar Advertising Company has a twelve month low of $113.66 and a twelve month high of $162.96.

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

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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