Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 263,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 13,712 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of American Tower worth $61,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.26. 1,989,131 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,935,833. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.20. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $98.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower's payout ratio is 273.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.85.

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.