Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Purchases 111 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 431.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Citigroup upped their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank cut their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.79.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $213.17 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.61. 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 $99.65 billion, a PE ratio of 89.95, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. 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 is presently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

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.