Fiduciary Group LLC Raises Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for about 1.0% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMT. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,701,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,943. 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 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.22. The company has a market capitalization of $80.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.99, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho assumed 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

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.