American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Shares Acquired by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for approximately 1.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $14,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partners Group Holding AG increased its position in American Tower by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,438,000 after buying an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its position in American Tower by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,252,000 after buying an additional 46,009 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation increased its position in American Tower by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 42,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,815,000 after buying an additional 6,165 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,246,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in American Tower by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 769,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,174,000 after buying an additional 18,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.8%

American Tower stock opened at $217.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a PE ratio of 55.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.34.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 17.34%. The firm 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 business earned $2.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given 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 yield of 3.13%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 174.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AMT. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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 began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.25.

American Tower Company 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.