abrdn plc Boosts Stock Holdings in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,930 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in American Assets Trust were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Assets Trust by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of American Assets Trust by 131.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of American Assets Trust by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in American Assets Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Assets Trust by 516.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Wyll sold 30,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.22, for a total value of $853,316.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,690.90. This represents a 39.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 37.32% of the company’s stock.

American Assets Trust Price Performance

Shares of AAT opened at $22.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.31. American Assets Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.03 and a fifty-two week high of $29.15. The company has a quick ratio of 8.53, a current ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.41. American Assets Trust had a return on equity of 4.98% and a net margin of 12.40%. On average, research analysts forecast that American Assets Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Assets Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. This is an increase from American Assets Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 150.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Assets Trust from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Assets Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

About American Assets Trust

American Assets Trust, Inc is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT"), headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 55 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier office, retail, and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation's most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Texas and Hawaii.