Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 1,674.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,330 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 129,589 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $29,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its holdings in American Tower by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,718,000 after acquiring an additional 13,074 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,625 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,542,000 after acquiring an additional 21,139 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Tower by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,155,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,001,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,130,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,452. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Raymond James raised American Tower from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.91.

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.