Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR Shares Purchased by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising Company by 158.6% during Q1, owning approximately 0.30% of the company valued at $34.9 million.
• Insider activity included CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson selling 22,000 shares for a total of $2.73 million.
• Lamar Advertising recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55, representing a 4.9% dividend yield and a significant payout ratio of 144.19%.

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 158.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 306,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 188,213 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Lamar Advertising worth $34,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,311,526 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $149,225,000 after buying an additional 43,081 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,282,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,967,000 after buying an additional 4,495 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,109,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $126,258,000 after buying an additional 7,426 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 917,833 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,431,000 after buying an additional 50,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 674,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $76,698,000 after buying an additional 27,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of LAMR stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.60. The company had a trading volume of 298,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $124.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.12. The stock has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 1.38. Lamar Advertising Company has a 52-week low of $99.84 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Research 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 $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAMR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.20.

Insider Activity at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $2,734,160.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 14.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.