Mendel Capital Management LLC Acquires 61 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 18,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,997,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Quaero Capital S.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 161.8% in the 4th quarter. Quaero Capital S.A. now owns 8,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,372,000 after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,906,000. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 9,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $10.15 on Wednesday, reaching $182.66. 2,337,102 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,327,916. The company has a fifty day moving average of $194.83 and a 200-day moving average of $193.21. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The company has a market capitalization of $85.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.67, a PEG ratio of 1.30 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 announced its earnings results 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 213.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.