Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Purchases 46,200 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 227,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $41,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Tower by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,599,074,000 after purchasing an additional 204,426 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in American Tower by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,646 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,211,397,000 after purchasing an additional 243,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $184.91 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 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). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.