KBC Group NV Acquires 340,742 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 270.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 466,772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 340,742 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.10% of American Tower worth $108,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. lifted its stake in American Tower by 0.7% during the third quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 65,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,242,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 17.6% in the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,620 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 8.4% in the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,294,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $196.55. 762,113 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,315,125. The company has a market cap of $91.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $224.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. American Tower's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMT. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.85.

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.