American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 196 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Tower by 22.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in American Tower by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in American Tower by 32.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 6.2% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Essex LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Up 0.6 %

American Tower stock opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The stock has a market cap of $80.36 billion, a PE ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.09.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.