American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC trimmed its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 57,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,187 shares during the quarter. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $10,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $220.43 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. 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 $103.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.01, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.22 and a 200-day moving average of $203.95.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMT. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.07.

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.