Algert Global LLC Acquires New Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 8,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,640,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in American Tower by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 35,044 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,427,000 after acquiring an additional 11,799 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE AMT opened at $219.96 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.81, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.10. 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 (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s 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.