Naviter Wealth LLC Acquires 12,410 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Naviter Wealth LLC grew its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 46.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 39,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,410 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 1.7% of Naviter Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded up $2.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $174.10. 1,055,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,405,524. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $190.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.42. The company has a market cap of $81.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.99, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $12,953,352.99. The transaction 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 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 directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.