B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 51,595 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,998,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,243,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885,421 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $720,206,000 after acquiring an additional 302,676 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in American Tower by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,571,000 after acquiring an additional 464,429 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in American Tower by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,536,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $298,617,000 after acquiring an additional 69,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 1,442,759 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $280,443,000 after purchasing an additional 84,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded up $2.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $201.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,513,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,324,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.90, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day moving average price is $221.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.24.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.54.

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.