Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. decreased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,424 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE AMT traded down $3.13 on Friday, hitting $222.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,054,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,271,894. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $162.55 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The business's fifty day moving average price is $228.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $104.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. American Tower's payout ratio is 146.61%.

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.