Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $4,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 227.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMT opened at $206.67 on Thursday. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.05. The stock has a market cap of $96.61 billion, a PE ratio of 87.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

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.