Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 53.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 141,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 163,933 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 1.8% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $25,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,547 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,437,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,141 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $20,201,000 after acquiring an additional 36,287 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 23,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,276,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,548 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its position in American Tower by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 8,290 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE AMT opened at $221.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a PE ratio of 93.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50 day moving average is $209.52 and its 200 day moving average is $202.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors 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. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMT. 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $233.07.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.