Markel Group Inc. Purchases 11,500 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Lamar Advertising worth $6,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 249.0% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 705 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth about $108,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.4 %

LAMR traded up $1.56 on Friday, hitting $114.37. The company had a trading volume of 188,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $77.21 and a 52-week high of $121.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.50.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.49). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. The business had revenue of $555.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $549.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of Lamar Advertising stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 14.98% of the company's stock.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.

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