Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 38,436 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $981,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 269.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $197.86 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

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.