Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 1,382 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,382 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 218.0% in the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in American Tower by 193.5% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $212.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.51 billion, a PE ratio of 89.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.82. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.78. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AMT. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $240.25.

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.