Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,209 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 76.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,209 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,437,602 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position 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 valued at $902,396,000 after buying an additional 3,032,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,246,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

American Tower Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:AMT opened at $213.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $99.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $172.51 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $214.94 and its 200-day moving average is $201.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

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.