NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 1,952 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,628 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,952 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $17,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,342,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,074,956,000 after acquiring an additional 129,192 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $1,164,851,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 8.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 455,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $232.07.

American Tower Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $4.38 on Monday, hitting $218.28. 789,892 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,454,565. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.26. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week 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 cap of $102.04 billion, a PE ratio of 92.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio 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.