American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 410,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,760 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for approximately 1.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.09% of American Tower worth $75,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after buying an additional 2,152,646 shares in the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 2,723.4% in the third quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $279,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,890 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 456.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,269,000 after purchasing an additional 922,701 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $214.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.54. The company has a market capitalization of $100.42 billion, a price-to-earnings 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.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.79.

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.