Syntax Research Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Syntax Research Inc. raised its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,937 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up 2.3% of Syntax Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $216.41 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction 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 $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

About American Tower

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.