New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Acquires 2,200 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in American Tower were worth $5,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.5 %

American Tower stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,393,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,347,319. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $188.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.07. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The company has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.91.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

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

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.