Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 21,408 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $28,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in American Tower by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 412.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 8.0% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 10,523 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,447,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at $234,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $216.41. 6,326,073 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,271,096. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $195.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.66. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower 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.