Moore Capital Management LP Sells 42,829 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Moore Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 86.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 42,829 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,164,851,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after buying an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of American Tower by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,570,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in American Tower by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $902,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $193,246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $207.81 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $172.51 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. 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 capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 87.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $215.11 and its 200 day moving average is $201.66.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 174.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AMT shares. JMP Securities lifted their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

About American Tower

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.