American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,619 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 1.2% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in American Tower were worth $10,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 8,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 25,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,712,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,742,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $319,683,000 after buying an additional 11,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 73,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,398,000 after acquiring an additional 13,531 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $205.61 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.21.

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.