Millennium Management LLC Buys 51,511 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 76.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 51,511 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.12% of Lamar Advertising worth $14,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $200,093,000 after acquiring an additional 90,933 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth approximately $414,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at $5,639,000. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR traded up $3.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $118.44. 343,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 514,338. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $99.84 and a 12 month high of $139.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The company had revenue of $505.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.72 million. Research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising 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 Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.49%.

Lamar Advertising 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.