MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $26.46 Million Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $26,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $210.95. 2,885,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,482,146. The stock has a market cap of $98.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.01, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $209.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.42. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.07.

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.