Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 71,770 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,619 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in American Tower were worth $15,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in American Tower by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,570,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in American Tower by 160.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $902,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 23,627.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,701,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $370,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.6%

AMT traded up $1.37 on Monday, hitting $220.61. 241,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,495,944. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $216.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. American Tower Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $103.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.71, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 17.34%. American Tower's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMT. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price for 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 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target 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 assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $240.88.

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.