Wallington Asset Management LLC Purchases 90 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Wallington Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 1.9% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.67.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $190.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $193.09 and its 200 day moving average is $211.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.39, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is 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.