American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stake Decreased by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 20.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 177,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,383,000 after acquiring an additional 30,499 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in American Tower by 412.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in American Tower by 8.0% during the third quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 10,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,447,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.79.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $213.17 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.65 billion, a PE ratio of 89.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current 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 represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.