Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 14,217 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $24,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $221.13. 1,459,188 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,503,683. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $103.52 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $216.55 and its 200-day moving average is $205.54.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 30.20%. American Tower's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.88.

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.