Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 3,027 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,027 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up approximately 0.7% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $14,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.8 %

AMT opened at $217.71 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.67 and a 200-day moving average of $204.16. The company has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly 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. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.07.

About American Tower

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.