Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Raises Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 46.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its stake in American Tower by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,718,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 0.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,155,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in American Tower by 16.1% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $2,001,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 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 approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $171.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,701,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,943. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.99, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 203.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.