American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Purchased by Cohen & Steers Inc.

Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,440,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 583,892 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for 7.2% of Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 3.53% of American Tower worth $3,549,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.91.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $193.75. 3,331,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,466,323. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $184.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.15. The stock has a market cap of $90.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.83, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.