Chicago Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 45.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 218.0% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in American Tower in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AMT opened at $215.14 on Wednesday. American Tower Corporation has a 52 week low of $172.51 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm has a market cap of $100.72 billion, a PE ratio of 55.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 17.34%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities lifted their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.25.

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.