American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Holdings Increased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1,185.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 59,514 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in American Tower by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in American Tower by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Three investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.92.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AMT stock traded up $3.80 on Friday, reaching $213.72. 1,548,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,128. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $197.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.65. The stock has a market cap of $99.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

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.