Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Sells 45,175 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,175 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $35,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $209.63 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.60 and a 200 day moving average of $206.52. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.72%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMT. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.21.

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.