Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $397,000 Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 363 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE AMT traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $174.49. 1,465,334 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,418,364. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.19. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The firm has a market cap of $81.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.78, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors 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 yield of 3.71%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, 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 value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

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.