Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 33.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LAMR. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 346.0% in the 1st quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 175.1% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 100.8% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 773 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAMR shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.00.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock opened at $124.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.15. 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 $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13 and a beta of 1.33.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 19.08%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $509.72 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 150.49%.

Lamar Advertising 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.