American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stake Decreased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 61.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 184,064 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $24,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $10,020,034,000 after buying an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 691,934 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 101,474.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464,030 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings 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 worth $1,195,545,000 after purchasing an additional 258,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,090,046,000 after purchasing an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $171.00 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. 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 company has a market cap of $79.75 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.43.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results 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). American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.