Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 36,013 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,283,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $235,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.23.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $188.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.71, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

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.