Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Increases Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 44.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balentine LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth $586,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in American Tower by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 95,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,163 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 27.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,029,000 after buying an additional 4,430 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 41,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,157,000 after acquiring an additional 9,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in American Tower by 46.8% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 25,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.54.

American Tower Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $204.31 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $218.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

American Tower 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.