IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Has $1.03 Million Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 1.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in American Tower by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,316,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $975,065,000 after acquiring an additional 107,345 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,111,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $956,132,000 after purchasing an additional 224,261 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $214.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $100.21 billion, a PE ratio of 90.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.01. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.43.

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.