Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 7,595 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 418,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,595 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up approximately 2.2% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of American Tower worth $90,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 23.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 363,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,585,000 after purchasing an additional 85,693 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 13.3% during the first quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 231,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,487,000 after purchasing an additional 27,194 shares during the period. Finally, Georgetown University raised its position in shares of American Tower by 128.2% in the fourth quarter. Georgetown University now owns 45,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,373,000 after buying an additional 25,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 target price on American Tower and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

American Tower Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $208.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $97.83 billion, a PE ratio of 75.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.61 and a 200-day moving average of $210.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 247.27%.

About American Tower

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.