Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 4,887 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,887 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 51.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.21.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $212.49 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $189.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.40. The firm has a market cap of $99.29 billion, a PE ratio of 89.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 134.72%.

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.