Syon Capital LLC Purchases 345 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,718,000 after buying an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,155,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 16.1% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $2,001,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Tower 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 transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 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 insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $171.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $80.04 billion, a PE ratio of 53.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 203.77%.

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.