Slow Capital Inc. Boosts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter worth approximately $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in American Tower by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in American Tower by 1.4% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $172.21. 3,848,820 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,378,524. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $193.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.74. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, 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 value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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.

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.