Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 315,501 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 82.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 315,501 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 12,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 4,896 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in American Tower by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 887,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,626,000 after purchasing an additional 224,012 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $3,301,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $1,055,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock opened at $223.03 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $104.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. 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 50-day simple moving average of $208.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.44.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.07.

About American Tower

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.