Traynor Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,157 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 101,474.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464,030 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $1,008,567,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 9,842,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,908,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,016,160 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 2,329.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $218,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in American Tower by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,231,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,532,063,000 after acquiring an additional 962,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $197.59. 2,168,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,337,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.14, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.68. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $196.21 and a 200-day moving average of $192.09.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 213.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMT. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. HSBC began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.