Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Acquires 344 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $207.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.90 billion, a PE ratio of 87.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS 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 given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AMT shares. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.