Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Invests $241,000 in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 43.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,693,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $141,352,000 after purchasing an additional 512,182 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 129.2% in the third quarter. Ranger Global Real Estate Advisors LLC now owns 477,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,827,000 after buying an additional 268,934 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 146.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 390,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,626,000 after acquiring an additional 232,135 shares in the last quarter. Makaira Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Makaira Partners LLC now owns 756,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,159,000 after acquiring an additional 182,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth $12,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR traded down $3.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.08. The stock had a trading volume of 641,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,358. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $77.21 and a 12 month high of $121.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.69. The firm has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.49.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.88% and a net margin of 23.49%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Lamar Advertising

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.