Fmr LLC Boosts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

FMR LLC boosted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 537,136 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.39% of American Tower worth $2,050,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 29.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 5,064 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,287,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in American Tower by 73.1% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 305,708 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,095,000 after buying an additional 129,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $232.07.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $213.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,555,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,286. 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 has a market capitalization of $99.69 billion, a PE ratio of 89.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $205.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.85.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

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.