Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 17,722 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 81.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 17,722 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Personal Capital Advisors Corp lifted its stake in American Tower by 1.7% during the first quarter. Personal Capital Advisors Corp now owns 2,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 40.3% during the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Alera Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 7.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.1 %

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

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% 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.