B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $11,998,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 46.8% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 25,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,980,000 after acquiring an additional 8,195 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 13.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in American Tower by 1.0% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 6.9% during the third quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 6,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 21,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $198.84 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $221.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.24. The company has a market capitalization of $92.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.90, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-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.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.54.

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.