American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Vert Asset Management LLC

Vert Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,507 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises approximately 7.5% of Vert Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $21,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,516,890,000 after buying an additional 3,437,602 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in American Tower by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 160.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $902,396,000 after buying an additional 3,032,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 23,627.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,701,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $370,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded up $1.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $214.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,624,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,469. The company's 50 day moving average price is $215.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.85. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The stock has a market cap of $100.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMT. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $240.25.

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.