Adelante Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Adelante Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2,723.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,160,890 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for 12.7% of Adelante Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Adelante Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of American Tower worth $279,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 269.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $209.00 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.46. The firm has a market cap of $97.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.54.

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.