Oakworth Capital Inc. Grows Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 157.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after buying an additional 196,942 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in American Tower by 5.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,135,227,000 after acquiring an additional 691,934 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Tower by 101,474.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,219,094,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464,030 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in American Tower by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,195,545,000 after acquiring an additional 258,030 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,090,046,000 after purchasing an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $172.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $192.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.58. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.