Blue Chip Partners LLC Has $8.21 Million Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in American Tower by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $173.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.68 billion, a PE ratio of 53.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during 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 was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given 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 was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 203.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Company 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.