Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 63,634 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 738,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,634 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of American Tower worth $134,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after acquiring an additional 204,426 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $975,065,000 after acquiring an additional 107,345 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 38,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $956,132,000 after purchasing an additional 224,261 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock opened at $214.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The firm 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.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. 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 yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.