Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 1,619 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,619 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for 1.2% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in American Tower were worth $10,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in American Tower by 25.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,152,646 shares during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2,723.4% during the 3rd quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $279,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,890 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in American Tower by 270.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 466,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,553,000 after buying an additional 340,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON boosted its stake in American Tower by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 710,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $165,286,000 after acquiring an additional 333,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.21.

American Tower Stock Up 0.8 %

American Tower stock opened at $205.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $187.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 273.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.