River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,263 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $14,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $209.95 on Wednesday. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The stock has a market cap of $98.14 billion, a PE ratio of 88.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.77 and its 200-day moving average is $206.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

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.