Chicago Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Chicago Capital LLC boosted its position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 45.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 218.0% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of American Tower by 193.5% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 182 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AMT traded up $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $215.50. 1,665,651 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,486,491. American Tower Corporation has a one year low of $172.51 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $100.88 billion, a PE ratio of 55.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley started 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research 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.com, the stock presently 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.