Chiron Investment Management LLC Invests $8.82 Million in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 37,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $8,815,000. American Tower makes up about 3.1% of Chiron Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,924,091,000 after acquiring an additional 635,726 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after acquiring an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 25.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,474,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,646 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 41.8% during the second 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,211,397,000 after acquiring an additional 243,061 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $199.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,318,789. 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 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $93.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.31, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $212.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.37.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. American Tower's payout ratio is 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMT. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.54.

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.