American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Position Trimmed by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in American Tower by 157.9% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective 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, Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $181.76. 3,130,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,469,077. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.32 and a 200 day moving average of $194.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.71.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower 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 sale, the director now 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 this link. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.