Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $22.59 Million Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 505.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,363 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $22,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

Insider Activity

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

American Tower Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $2.80 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,252,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,898. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $83.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.00, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.40.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

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.