First Financial Bank Trust Division Increases Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in American Tower by 269.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.08.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $2.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $181.03. 2,607,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,340,231. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $200.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.51. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $84.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

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.