AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 98.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,001,850 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 10,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Values Added Financial LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in American Tower by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,074,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $197,041,000 after acquiring an additional 35,149 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 35,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,579,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $189.41 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market cap of $88.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $186.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.89.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.79.

American Tower Company 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.