Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 103,500 Shares of American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT - Free Report) by 112.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 103,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.32% of American Assets Trust worth $5,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of American Assets Trust by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,459 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in American Assets Trust by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in American Assets Trust by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 33,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $883,000 after buying an additional 4,878 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Assets Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $489,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of American Assets Trust by 693.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 661,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 578,386 shares in the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of American Assets Trust from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Assets Trust from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

American Assets Trust Price Performance

NYSE:AAT traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 350,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,630. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.20 and a 200-day moving average of $24.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.12. American Assets Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.69 and a fifty-two week high of $29.15.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.41. American Assets Trust had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 4.98%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Assets Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Assets Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from American Assets Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. American Assets Trust's dividend payout ratio is 152.81%.

About American Assets Trust

American Assets Trust, Inc is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT"), headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 55 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier office, retail, and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation's most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Texas and Hawaii.