Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 269.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.4 %

AMT stock opened at $188.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $188.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.62. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.