Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC Has $1.71 Million Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC grew its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,327 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC's holdings in American Tower were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $219.96 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $215.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AMT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. JMP Securities upped their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $239.27.

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.

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