Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,394,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 142,926 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.73% of American Tower worth $622,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,342,805 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,074,956,000 after acquiring an additional 129,192 shares during the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. bought a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $254,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $217.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.86, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.16.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 boosted their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.07.

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.