New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 48,006 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.14% of American Tower worth $139,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.18. The company had a trading volume of 2,658,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,235. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $191.52 and its 200-day moving average is $194.09.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.36.

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.