Channing Global Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Channing Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up 1.7% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Alera Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2.8% in the third quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AMT stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 496,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,378. 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 company has a market capitalization of $80.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $190.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.90. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

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.