Cohen & Steers Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,337,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 383,696 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $295,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 12,278.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,147,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,603 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $104,705,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 123.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,152,000 after buying an additional 816,217 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth about $88,615,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 97.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 991,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,439,000 after buying an additional 490,463 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock opened at $154.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.91. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 1.20. Lamar Advertising Company has a fifty-two week low of $113.66 and a fifty-two week high of $158.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $528.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 8.41 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, 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 118.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAMR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group set a $150.00 price objective on Lamar Advertising in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 target price on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 15,850 shares in the company, valued at $2,039,102.50. The trade was a 27.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 15.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Lamar Advertising

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.