M&T Bank Corp Sells 42,769 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,341 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 42,769 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.06% of American Tower worth $49,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 51.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AMT stock traded up $1.89 on Wednesday, reaching $209.01. 1,969,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,219,904. The stock has a market cap of $97.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.45.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. American Tower's payout ratio is 134.72%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.21.

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.