American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Position Increased by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 2,329.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $218,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,052 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 16,195.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,833,560,000 after acquiring an additional 844,128 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in American Tower by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,135,227,000 after acquiring an additional 691,934 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,255,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $535,447,000 after purchasing an additional 607,199 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $171.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.