Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Lowers Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. trimmed its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $221.52 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $228.52 and its 200 day moving average is $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market cap of $103.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $157.25 and a 52-week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.92.

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.