Investment Partners LTD. Sells 78 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Investment Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Down 0.7 %

AMT traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.69. 1,701,397 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,597,943. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.97. The stock has a market cap of $80.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.97, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.