KBC Group NV Sells 279,122 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 279,122 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in American Tower were worth $47,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Partners Group Holding AG boosted its holdings in American Tower by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $69,438,000 after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,252,000 after buying an additional 46,009 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 42,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,815,000 after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $193,246,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 769,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $141,174,000 after acquiring an additional 18,555 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.25.

American Tower Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AMT opened at $218.06 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.92. American Tower Corporation has a 52 week low of $172.51 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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