American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Bought by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 938 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after purchasing an additional 196,942 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of American Tower by 5.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of American Tower by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,195,545,000 after purchasing an additional 258,030 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,046,000 after purchasing an additional 138,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $939,284,000 after buying an additional 56,598 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, 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 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 approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $3.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,449,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,712. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $189.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.53. 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 capitalization of $80.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

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