Werlinich Asset Management LLC Acquires 85 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Werlinich Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up approximately 1.2% of Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Werlinich Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,516,890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,602 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,570,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $902,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 23,627.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,701,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $370,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $240.25.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $212.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $99.51 billion, a PE ratio of 89.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $172.51 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.79.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.81%.

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.