Barclays PLC Has $128.96 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Barclays PLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 703,102 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 286,916 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.15% of American Tower worth $128,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 537,136 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $1,164,851,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in 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 worth $1,089,746,000 after acquiring an additional 455,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,316,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $975,065,000 after acquiring an additional 107,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.07.

American Tower Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $5.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $223.03. 2,599,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,462,756. The firm has a market cap of $104.26 billion, a PE ratio of 94.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.65.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

American Tower 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.