Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 4,555 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,555 shares during the period. American Tower makes up 1.0% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $4,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMT. HSBC began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.55.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock traded up $2.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 683,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,252. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $196.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.96. The company has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.04, a PEG ratio of 1.35 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 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 213.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

American Tower 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.