Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases Shares of 32,650 American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd has acquired a new position in American Tower Corporation, purchasing 32,650 shares valued at approximately $7,038,000.
• American Tower received several upgrades from analysts, with JMP Securities increasing the price target from $248 to $260 and maintaining a "market outperform" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.96%, with a payout ratio of 174.81%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 32,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,038,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $393,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Tower by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 141,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,986,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in American Tower by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 268,982 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,334,000 after buying an additional 30,080 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,344. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $218.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $107.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.06, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. American Tower's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. 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, the stock currently 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.