QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 569 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $4,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in American Tower by 4.0% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 50.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $309,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.21.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $205.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

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.