Insider Selling: American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) CFO Sells $3,000,283.70 in Stock

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $190.51 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.