Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) by 120.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,436 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of American Assets Trust worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in American Assets Trust by 110.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after acquiring an additional 57,850 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in American Assets Trust by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 50,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 14,527 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Assets Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,703,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Assets Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,010,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in American Assets Trust by 187.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 107,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 69,812 shares during the period. 90.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Assets Trust Price Performance

Shares of American Assets Trust stock opened at $19.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day moving average of $23.15. American Assets Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.69 and a 12 month high of $29.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. American Assets Trust had a return on equity of 4.98% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $108.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.05 million. On average, research analysts expect that American Assets Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Assets Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. American Assets Trust’s payout ratio is currently 107.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AAT. Mizuho decreased their price target on American Assets Trust from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Assets Trust from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

American Assets Trust Profile

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.