Prospect Financial Services LLC Sells 215 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Prospect Financial Services LLC cut its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of AMT opened at $192.01 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.23.

American Tower Company 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.