ClearBridge Investments Ltd Has $61.04 Million Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 72.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 885,534 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 1.6% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned 0.07% of American Tower worth $61,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

American Tower Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $215.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $198.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.58. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 141.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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 upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.43.

Insider Activity

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

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.