New York Life Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,818 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in American Tower by 431.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $204.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.94. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $95.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on 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. Barclays dropped their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.