American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Position Reduced by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 73.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,220 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $30,000. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $197.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,168,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 62.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.68. 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 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $196.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.09.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business 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%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 213.84%.

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.