Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in American Tower by 4.0% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 50.1% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth approximately $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $205.61 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $96.08 billion, a PE ratio of 86.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $187.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.21.

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.