American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Position Reduced by Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 94.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,070 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,674 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its stake in American Tower by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,718,000 after buying an additional 13,074 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,542,000 after buying an additional 21,139 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Tower by 0.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,155,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $2,001,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $176.80 on Thursday. 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 $82.45 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $189.49 and its 200-day moving average is $194.40.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the 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 owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Tower 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 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 this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho initiated 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 on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.91.

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.