Asset Dedication LLC Sells 698 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Asset Dedication LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 698 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $924,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $11,868,000. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 102,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,776,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares during the period. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. increased its position in American Tower by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 14,417 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $185.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $86.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.36, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.78. 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 announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.23.

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.