Thompson Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 14,477 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,150,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 218.0% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.25.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT traded down $2.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,455,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $100.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.08. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $172.51 and a one year high of $243.56.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. 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.