American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stake Trimmed by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in American Tower were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Tower by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,020,034,000 after purchasing an additional 196,942 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after buying an additional 691,934 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in American Tower by 3.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,195,545,000 after buying an additional 258,030 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,090,046,000 after acquiring an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American Tower by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $939,284,000 after acquiring an additional 56,598 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,130,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,452. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.39. The stock has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.