New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 648,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,006 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of American Tower worth $139,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $730,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in American Tower by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 126,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,144,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,029 shares in the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 40,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $2.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.99. The stock had a trading volume of 876,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,965. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $81.61 billion, a PE ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.09.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 203.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.