abrdn plc Trims Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

abrdn plc lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 729,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 315,699 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in American Tower were worth $157,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after buying an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after buying an additional 691,934 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,464,030 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,195,545,000 after buying an additional 258,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,046,000 after buying an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction 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 American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Stock Performance

AMT traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $171.30. 2,867,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,507,582. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.89 billion, a PE ratio of 53.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.91 and its 200 day moving average is $193.49.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

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.