American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,760 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for approximately 1.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Tower were worth $75,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in American Tower by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AMT opened at $214.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.64, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $193.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.79.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Profile

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.