American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 26.2% during the first quarter, now owning 81,112 shares valued at approximately $17.65 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for American Tower, with Wells Fargo setting a new target of $240 and Royal Bank of Canada reaching $250, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".
• American Tower reported earnings per share of $2.75 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, despite a 9.6% year-over-year revenue decline.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 16,825 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 1.2% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $17,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 218.0% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $242.31.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $231.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $218.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.71. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.82.

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. American Tower had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. American Tower's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

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.

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