Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Sells 198 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

American Tower Stock Up 1.3 %

American Tower stock traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $173.90. 432,697 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,397,688. The company has a market cap of $81.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $190.29 and a 200-day moving average of $194.42. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.