Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 456.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 922,701 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for about 0.9% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $206,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.2% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in American Tower by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunburst Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $212.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $189.60 and its 200 day moving average is $206.21. The company has a market cap of $99.29 billion, a PE ratio of 89.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s payout ratio is 134.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.21.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.