Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New $862,000 Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CCLA Investment Management increased its position in shares of American Tower by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 432,891 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,344,000 after purchasing an additional 22,523 shares in the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its stake in American Tower by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 15,745 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,888,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,669 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $1.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.31. 2,230,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,407,892. 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 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.08, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $193.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.68.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 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 company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AMT. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.67.

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.