Dividend Assets Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Dividend Assets Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 17.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 6,593 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 1.8% of Dividend Assets Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Dividend Assets Capital LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $9,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 218.0% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $240.25.

American Tower Stock Down 0.2%

American Tower stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,577,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,653. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $214.72 and a 200 day moving average of $202.93. The stock has a market cap of $100.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.41, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.81.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. 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.