Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $586,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in American Tower by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,421,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,743,000 after purchasing an additional 314,769 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,156,000. TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho reduced their price target 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, 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 for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.00.

American Tower Trading Up 6.2 %

NYSE AMT opened at $203.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.84 and its 200 day moving average is $207.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $95.25 billion, a PE ratio of 86.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 273.42%.

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.