BIP Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.5 %

AMT stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.35. 2,873,211 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,437,123. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $190.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.05. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.51, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, research 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 will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 203.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.