Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR Shares Bought by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 193,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $24,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LAMR. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,872,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 323.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,531,000 after purchasing an additional 57,520 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,396,000 after buying an additional 10,265 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 1,202,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $147,162,000 after buying an additional 32,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at $22,262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock traded down $7.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.18. 714,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,163. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 1.19. Lamar Advertising Company has a 52-week low of $113.66 and a 52-week high of $162.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $522.86 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. As a group, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 118.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LAMR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 target price on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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, Citigroup lowered Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.50.

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.