American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in American Tower were worth $24,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $189.41 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $88.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.92, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.07. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.79.

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.