Meketa Capital LLC Invests $865,000 in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Meketa Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $865,000. American Tower comprises about 1.9% of Meketa Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 21.8% in the fourth 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in American Tower by 66.5% during 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 buying an additional 3,421,413 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $902,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $193,246,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE AMT traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,812,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,592. 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 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $214.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. American Tower's payout ratio is 174.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AMT shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on American Tower from $231.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $239.27.

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.