Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Purchases 111 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in American Tower were worth $19,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $10.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $207.23. 2,256,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,372,148. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.11. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.67.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.