Norges Bank Takes $104.71 Million Position in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 827,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $104,705,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 3,390.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 105,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,361,000 after purchasing an additional 102,532 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,382,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $301,573,000 after purchasing an additional 32,542 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAMR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of LAMR opened at $151.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $113.66 and a 52 week high of $158.69.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $528.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.86 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Lamar Advertising

In related news, EVP Ross Lamar Reilly sold 5,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.65, for a total value of $767,911.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,039,102.50. This represents a 27.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.24% of the stock is owned by company 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.