UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 14,132 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,132 shares during the period. American Tower comprises 0.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in American Tower were worth $12,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of American Tower by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $209.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.91.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly 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. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Company 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.