Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 120,266 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 403,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 120,266 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of American Tower worth $74,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $364,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $254,000. Nwam LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $373,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 129,234 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,055,000 after buying an additional 34,670 shares during the period. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $219,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $215.52. 1,907,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,385,502. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $198.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.58. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The stock has a market cap of $100.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.