Verity Asset Management Inc. Buys 106 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after acquiring an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152,646 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,211,397,000 after purchasing an additional 243,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $981,455,000 after purchasing an additional 38,436 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $184.21 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $190.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.25.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.