Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $36.39 Million Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 198,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,823 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in American Tower were worth $36,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partners Group Holding AG increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,438,000 after acquiring an additional 28,988 shares in the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $1,102,000. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,252,000 after purchasing an additional 46,009 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 42,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $193,246,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $211.89 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 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. The company has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $215.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.65.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. UBS Group upped their price target on American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities increased their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.25.

About American Tower

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.