Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 110,448 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,375,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 110,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.35% of American Tower worth $11,440,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 113.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of AMT traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $214.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,458,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,267,824. The company has a 50 day moving average of $198.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $100.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost 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 3.17%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.