Markel Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $23,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAMR. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 2nd quarter worth about $510,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 250.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 47,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 34,002 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 224.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 2nd quarter valued at about $873,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LAMR shares. UBS Group set a $150.00 price target on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price target on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.00.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $153.10 on Friday. Lamar Advertising Company has a 52 week low of $113.05 and a 52 week high of $158.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.18.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $528.00 million during 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 118.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ross Lamar Reilly sold 5,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.65, for a total transaction of $767,911.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,102.50. The trade was a 27.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 15.24% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

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.