Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $206.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.29, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.45.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.21.

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.