American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Tower were worth $68,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after acquiring an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,474,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,646 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,211,397,000 after acquiring an additional 243,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $981,455,000 after acquiring an additional 38,436 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $184.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.25. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.73, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. Barclays lowered their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

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.