Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 28,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,088,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 183.0% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Aquila Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $1,295,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 14,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.91.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $0.56 on Friday, hitting $179.20. 3,839,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,317,435. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

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.