Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC reduced its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 35.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 34,130 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for about 2.3% of Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partners Group Holding AG raised its position in American Tower by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,438,000 after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in American Tower by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,252,000 after acquiring an additional 46,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management raised its position in shares of American Tower by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 432,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,344,000 after acquiring an additional 22,523 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $219.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.81, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 has a 50 day moving average of $215.14 and a 200 day moving average of $201.77.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

American Tower 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.