Sophron Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 68,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $12,586,000. American Tower accounts for approximately 5.0% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vienna Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $497,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 22,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $2,298,000. TPG GP A LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. TPG GP A LLC now owns 276,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,779,000 after acquiring an additional 8,281 shares during the period. Finally, Triglav Skladi D.O.O. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $917,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $213.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.97, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $214.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.47. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently 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.