American Tower Corporation $AMT Stake Trimmed by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 33,806 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 1.1% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of American Tower worth $71,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,490,943,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,096,186,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $638,829,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $500,016,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $291,867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered American Tower from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.11.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $190.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.64. American Tower had a net margin of 30.10% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total transaction of $176,891.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $4,855,772.73. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rajesh Kalathur acquired 2,829 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment. The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.