Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $92.45 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 428,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,782 shares during the period. American Tower makes up approximately 1.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Tower were worth $92,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in American Tower by 17.1% during the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in American Tower by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 27.6% during the third quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 16,389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,613,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,921. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.94.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

American Tower Company 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.