Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Increases Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,588 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 7,650 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in American Tower were worth $39,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,164,851,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 456.9% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $206,269,000 after acquiring an additional 922,701 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,164,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $947,295,000 after acquiring an additional 742,632 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,050,390,000 after purchasing an additional 537,136 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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American Tower Trading Up 0.0 %

AMT stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.86. 3,641,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,463,962. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.84 billion, a PE ratio of 91.92, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank cut their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.07.

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.