Empower Advisory Group LLC Trims Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.79.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock opened at $188.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.11 billion, a PE ratio of 79.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.99.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.