American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $189.54 on Thursday. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.34. The firm has a market cap of $88.57 billion, a PE ratio of 79.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.