First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 127.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 70,895 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in American Tower were worth $23,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in American Tower by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,602 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,342,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,074,956,000 after acquiring an additional 129,192 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,050,390,000 after acquiring an additional 537,136 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,164,851,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,941,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,089,746,000 after buying an additional 455,225 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.07.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded up $9.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $221.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,174,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,491,854. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $103.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average is $211.28 and its 200-day moving average is $201.94.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 141.37%.

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.