Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,375,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 110,448 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.35% of American Tower worth $11,440,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after buying an additional 2,152,646 shares during the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 2,723.4% in the 3rd quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $279,890,000 after buying an additional 1,160,890 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 456.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,269,000 after buying an additional 922,701 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares in 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, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $216.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

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.