American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Shares Acquired by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• The University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in American Tower Corporation by 39.6%, owning 12,259 shares valued at approximately $2.67 million.
• Several research analysts have raised their price targets for American Tower stock, with estimates ranging from $240.00 to $255.00, indicating a positive outlook with multiple "buy" ratings.
• The most recent quarterly earnings report showed American Tower achieved a EPS of $2.75, exceeding expectations, despite a 9.6% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares during the quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $71,252,000 after purchasing an additional 46,009 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 23.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 369 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Tower by 3.5% during the first quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 363,088 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,585,000 after purchasing an additional 85,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in American Tower by 13.3% in the first quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 231,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,487,000 after acquiring an additional 27,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.59.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT traded down $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $208.51. 963,197 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,617,014. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.82, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 24.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.