American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Position Raised by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,515,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,519 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.32% of American Tower worth $277,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in American Tower by 51.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $215.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.58.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 141.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower 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.