Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,677 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for 0.8% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 51.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 49.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $216.41 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $195.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.61.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 3.14%. This is an increase 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 is presently 141.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

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.