Diametric Capital LP Buys New Shares in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,164,851,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 456.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,269,000 after acquiring an additional 922,701 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,164,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $947,295,000 after acquiring an additional 742,632 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock opened at $219.44 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $200.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $102.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.