Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,678 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,394 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,924,091,000 after acquiring an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,599,074,000 after purchasing an additional 204,426 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,474,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,646 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,316,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $975,065,000 after buying an additional 107,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMT shares. Mizuho decreased 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. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.21.

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American Tower Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $212.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $99.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.40.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current 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 is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. American Tower's payout ratio is 134.72%.

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.

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