Palisade Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $204.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.48 billion, a PE ratio of 86.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.54.

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.