Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $6.09 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,088,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors 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 that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on 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 American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $179.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,839,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,317,435. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The company's fifty day moving average price is $193.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.57. The company 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

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.