Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC lowered its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,484 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,250 shares during the quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $2,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $1,287,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $34,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 42,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,545,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in American Tower by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 141,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,867,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of AMT traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,555,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,794. The stock's 50 day moving average is $205.31 and its 200 day moving average is $202.65. The firm has a market cap of $99.69 billion, a PE ratio of 89.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

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American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Two research 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 MarketBeat, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.07.

American Tower Company 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.