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

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,683 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenview Trust co increased its stake in American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.2% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE AMT opened at $209.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. 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 $97.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.37, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.91.

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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade 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 at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.