Norges Bank Buys Shares of 6,351,078 American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Norges Bank bought a new position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,351,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,164,851,000. Norges Bank owned 1.36% of American Tower as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Partners Group Holding AG grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,438,000 after buying an additional 28,988 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Tower by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,421,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,743,000 after acquiring an additional 314,769 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $1,156,000. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $1,102,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of AMT opened at $214.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $100.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.46, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The stock 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 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.43.

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.