Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,259 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,419 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 388,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,252,000 after acquiring an additional 46,009 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in American Tower by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 363,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,585,000 after purchasing an additional 85,693 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in American Tower by 13.3% in the first quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 231,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,487,000 after purchasing an additional 27,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $208.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.81. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.76 and a 200 day moving average of $209.88. The company has a market cap of $97.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.95, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The business’s revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. HSBC cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.00.

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.