157,113 Shares in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 157,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $29,032,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

American Tower stock opened at $216.41 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $195.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change 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 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

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.