Meketa Capital LLC Buys New Shares in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Meketa Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $865,000. American Tower accounts for about 1.9% of Meketa Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 142,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,184,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC now owns 13,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,522,000 after buying an additional 6,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 36,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,694,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 5.5%

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $207.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. 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 $215.11 and its 200 day moving average is $201.66. The company has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.68, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.