Bfsg LLC Invests $43,000 in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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 upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Down 0.3 %

AMT stock opened at $172.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.90. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.63 billion, a PE ratio of 54.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. 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). American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Company 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.