M&G Plc Sells 142,178 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

M&G PLC decreased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 635,885 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 142,178 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 0.8% of M&G PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. M&G PLC owned 0.14% of American Tower worth $148,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $463,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 2,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 17.7% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 31,749 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 4,775 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.85.

American Tower Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $197.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,873,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,447. The company has a market capitalization of $92.42 billion, a PE ratio of 83.49, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $227.07 and its 200 day moving average is $209.71. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. American Tower's revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

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.