American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) is Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's 6th Largest Position

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing 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 holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of American Tower worth $75,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% in the third 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 during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,160,890 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 456.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $206,269,000 after buying an additional 922,701 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

American Tower stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $216.41. The stock had a trading volume of 6,326,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,564. The company has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.43. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. American Tower's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.43.

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.