Natixis Advisors L.P. Purchases 34,238 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 34,238 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $25,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,718,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,542,000 after purchasing an additional 21,139 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 0.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,155,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,001,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $181.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $189.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.39. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.91.

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.