O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 15,064 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and 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 about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $217.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $199.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.20. The stock has a market cap of $101.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

American Tower 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.