Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $6,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after purchasing an additional 204,426 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 25.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after buying an additional 2,152,646 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,211,397,000 after buying an additional 243,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 0.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $200.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $186.16 and a 200-day moving average of $206.96. 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 firm has a market cap of $93.81 billion, a PE ratio of 84.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.21.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower 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.