United Services Automobile Association Purchases Shares of 5,850 Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising Company with the purchase of 5,850 shares valued at approximately $658,000 in the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 22,000 shares by CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson, which totaled over $2.7 million, highlighting active management decisions within the company.
• Lamar Advertising recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55, with an annualized yield of 4.8%, even as the dividend payout ratio stands at 144.19%.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 426.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 659,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $74,340,000 after acquiring an additional 533,959 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the first quarter valued at $40,699,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 181.7% in 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 158.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 306,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,918,000 after buying an additional 188,213 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $18,061,000 after buying an additional 115,762 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising 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 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.60. The stock had a trading volume of 298,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 624,994. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. Lamar Advertising Company has a 52 week low of $99.84 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67 and a beta of 1.38.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $579.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 41.85%. Lamar Advertising has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.090-6.11 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.