Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 303,558 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,476,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 303,558 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.74% of American Tower worth $637,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Glenview Trust co grew its position in American Tower by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,056 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 3.4 %

AMT stock traded up $7.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $225.40. 2,449,369 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,391,508. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $200.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.16. The company has a market cap of $105.36 billion, a PE ratio of 95.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. American Tower's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $232.07.

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.