American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $37,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $6,088,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 183.0% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Aquila Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $1,295,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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 target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock opened at $179.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $83.57 billion, a PE ratio of 56.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.57.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

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.