American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors lowered its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 892,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 165,032 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 0.19% of American Tower worth $163,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,784,000. Destination Wealth Management raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 94,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 0.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 7,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $223.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $104.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $208.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.44.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.