American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Holdings Cut by Maple Brown Abbott Ltd

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd lowered its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 311,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,970 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 6.9% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned about 0.07% of American Tower worth $67,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in American Tower by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in American Tower by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 33.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.4% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.28. 2,064,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,411,618. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.26 and its 200-day moving average is $193.74. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price target 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 reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.