Strs Ohio Sells 5,171 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Strs Ohio trimmed its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 171,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,171 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in American Tower were worth $37,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought 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 in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $177.46. 234,350 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,364,626. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.57. The company has a market cap of $82.76 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 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.91.

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.