Sophron Capital Management L.P. Takes $12.59 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 68,621 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $12,586,000. American Tower comprises approximately 5.0% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE AMT traded down $3.46 on Thursday, reaching $210.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,969,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,511,959. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company's fifty day moving average is $215.33 and its 200-day moving average is $201.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James upped their target price 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. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.25.

American Tower Company 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.