Barton Investment Management Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Barton Investment Management lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises 1.7% of Barton Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Barton Investment Management’s holdings in American Tower were worth $15,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,599,074,000 after purchasing an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,474,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,646 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 4.9% in 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. boosted 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 worth $981,455,000 after acquiring an additional 38,436 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $187.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $189.66 and a 200 day moving average of $210.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.13, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

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.