Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 19,683 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,683 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Partners Group Holding AG grew its position in shares of American Tower by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 378,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,438,000 after acquiring an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,421,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,743,000 after acquiring an additional 314,769 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,156,000. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,102,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in American Tower by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $209.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.91. The firm has a market cap of $97.90 billion, a PE ratio of 88.37, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.