KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $29.03 Million in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 157,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $29,032,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in American Tower by 1.4% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 18,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 45,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,633,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,725 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $364,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $233,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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American Tower Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $4.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $214.38. 2,458,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,268,725. The stock's fifty day moving average is $197.91 and its 200 day moving average is $204.94. The firm has a market cap of $100.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. This is a boost 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on 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, Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $229.43.

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.