Capital Investment Advisors LLC Sells 115 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $180.31 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.68. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. 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 market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.08, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMT. Barclays decreased their target price on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.67.

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.