Mariner LLC Boosts Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mariner LLC boosted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,088 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 85,693 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned approximately 0.08% of American Tower worth $66,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in American Tower by 21.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 129,192 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 5.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 537,136 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,164,851,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,941,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,089,746,000 after buying an additional 455,225 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock traded up $5.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $223.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,599,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.10, a PEG 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $207.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.71.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.05%. 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. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued 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 an average target price of $232.07.

American Tower Company Profile

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.