American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $58,905,000. LDR Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Tower by 96.8% during the 4th quarter. LDR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,937,000 after buying an additional 7,877 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in American Tower by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Outfitter Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PYA Waltman Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PYA Waltman Capital LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,790,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.79.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $191.32 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.36. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $89.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.