Capital Analysts LLC Buys 8,197 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,877 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $9,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $225.67. 2,472,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,497,190. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.07. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $105.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.22, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $238.33.

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.