American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc cut its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,683 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in American Tower were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT traded up $2.69 on Tuesday, hitting $174.99. 876,724 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,407,965. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $191.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.09. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The firm has a market cap of $81.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

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.