Loudon Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,968 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises about 1.7% of Loudon Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $3,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,342,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,074,956,000 after acquiring an additional 129,192 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,050,390,000 after acquiring an additional 537,136 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,570,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,164,851,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.31.

American Tower Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AMT stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $231.30. 2,034,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,628,520. The business's fifty day moving average is $217.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $172.51 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

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.