Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,453 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,288 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $17,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $686,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of American Tower by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $730,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 126,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.1 %

American Tower stock traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.20. 2,658,989 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,235. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.19. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The firm has a market cap of $81.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for 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%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AMT. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.36.

American Tower Company 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.