Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. Raises Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 938 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for 1.9% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balentine LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $586,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $1,156,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 95,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of American Tower by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 25,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,980,000 after buying an additional 8,195 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 268.2% in the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 3,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $179.99. 2,262,034 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,227,620. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $84.11 billion, a PE ratio of 75.95, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $198.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.08.

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.