Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 1,707 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Alera Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.91.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.74. 3,130,327 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,879,452. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $189.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

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.