Argentarii LLC Invests $227,000 in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Argentarii LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in American Tower by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Up 2.7 %

AMT stock opened at $212.49 on Monday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.21.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMT. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.21.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.