Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC Increases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,067 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the period. American Tower makes up 5.1% of Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC owned 0.14% of American Tower worth $120,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $233.07.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded down $8.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.59. The company had a trading volume of 7,045,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,480,529. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.70, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $209.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 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.