Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $21.25 Million Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 158.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 115,839 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 71,039 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $21,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in American Tower by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 63,626 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 66,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,116,000 after buying an additional 27,983 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 425,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,101,000 after buying an additional 64,782 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in American Tower by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,941,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,089,746,000 after purchasing an additional 455,225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $5.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $223.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,599,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,013. The company's 50-day moving average price is $207.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.71. The company has a market capitalization of $104.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.07.

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.