American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,477 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its holdings in 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 valued at $1,085,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,718,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,542,000 after purchasing an additional 21,139 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $29,155,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $2,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,968,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,455,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.09.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 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 issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 American Tower 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 approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,264 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,757 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.91.

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.