American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Position Trimmed by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,441 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $6,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded up $6.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $177.81. 2,437,608 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,432,405. The stock has a market cap of $82.92 billion, a PE ratio of 54.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.53. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James raised American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.55.

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.