Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,233 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,199 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 3,381 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 34.2% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 1,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 17.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,520 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,091,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 8.2% during the first quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in American Tower by 110.4% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 2,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $196.45 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.85.

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.