Canopy Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Canopy Partners LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $220.43 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.72. The firm has a market cap of $103.04 billion, a PE ratio of 93.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. 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 (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.07.

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.