Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Acquires Shares of 3,391 Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 243.9% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 93.0% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LAMR. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 14.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $118.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.91. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $77.21 and a 52 week high of $121.99. The company has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 1.50.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.22%.

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.