Ethic Inc. Acquires 2,123 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 212,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,951,000 after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 60,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,116,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in American Tower by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 210,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,875,000 after purchasing an additional 17,524 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $61,009,000 after buying an additional 5,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

American Tower stock opened at $219.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.82 billion, a PE ratio of 92.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $215.14 and a 200 day moving average of $202.10. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $172.51 and a one year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

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.