DnB Asset Management AS Has $22.41 Million Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 122,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in American Tower were worth $22,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,164,851,000. Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 2,723.4% in the third quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $279,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,890 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 456.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,269,000 after buying an additional 922,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMT. JMP Securities assumed 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 cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.43.

American Tower Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $215.52 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.85. The stock has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 141.37%.

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.