River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 9,231 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,231 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $23,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in American Tower by 5.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.4% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,367,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $172.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $80.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.83 and its 200-day moving average is $193.58. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.