Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 118 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. increased its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $80.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.09.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.