J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Grows Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in American Tower were worth $24,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.07.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $210.95. 2,885,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,958. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $209.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.42. The stock has a market cap of $98.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. 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 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.