Operose Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Operose Advisors LLC lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Operose Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth approximately $1,784,000. Destination Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 94,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in American Tower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in American Tower by 19.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 7,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMT. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.07.

American Tower Trading Up 0.0 %

AMT stock opened at $217.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $206.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.67. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $101.84 billion, a PE ratio of 91.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

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.