J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 260.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,125 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AMT traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,031,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.28. 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 $107.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $242.31.

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.