First National Trust Co Has $2.26 Million Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

First National Trust Co lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Knuff & Co LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 22,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,858,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,130,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,879,452. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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 analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AMT shares. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’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 value of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.