Stonegate Investment Group LLC Lowers Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in American Tower by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,474,934,000 after buying an additional 2,152,646 shares in the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 2,723.4% in the third quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,517 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $279,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,890 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 23,224.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 997,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,941,000 after acquiring an additional 993,061 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 22,242.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 778,865 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,811,330,000 after purchasing an additional 775,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in American Tower by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $187.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $191.94 and its 200 day moving average is $211.14. 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 company has a market cap of $87.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.93, a PEG ratio of 1.24 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.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.23.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.