Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after buying an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,195,545,000 after purchasing an additional 258,030 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,090,046,000 after buying an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in American Tower by 1.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $939,284,000 after buying an additional 56,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE AMT traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $178.13. 1,310,695 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,455,205. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMT. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.91.

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.