Synovus Financial Corp Increases Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,335 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in American Tower were worth $7,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $232.07.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded up $5.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $223.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,599,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $207.73 and a 200 day moving average of $202.71. The firm has a market cap of $104.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower's payout ratio is 141.37%.

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.