Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $9.49 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 51,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $9,485,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,421,095 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $260,743,000 after purchasing an additional 314,769 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,156,000. TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $1,102,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,879 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 432,891 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 22,523 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $2.14 on Friday, reaching $216.41. 6,326,073 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,267,826. The business's 50-day moving average is $195.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56.

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American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. American Tower's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $229.43.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.