Prospect Capital Advisors LLC Trims Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Prospect Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,490 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for 3.8% of Prospect Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Prospect Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $6,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 160.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $902,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $193,246,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $204.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $214.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.70. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 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. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMT. UBS Group increased their target price on American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.

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