Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 30,080 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 30,080 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in American Tower were worth $49,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 141,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,986,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 99,327.8% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 53,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,847,000 after buying an additional 53,637 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $12,242,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,164,851,000. Finally, LM Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 86.8% during the fourth quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $215.52 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. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $198.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.