Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 456.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 922,701 shares during the period. American Tower makes up approximately 0.9% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of American Tower worth $206,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in American Tower by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock opened at $212.49 on Monday. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $189.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $99.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.72%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.21.

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.

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