West Coast Financial LLC Sells 1,214 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

West Coast Financial LLC decreased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,214 shares during the period. American Tower comprises 1.0% of West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 218.0% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $214.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.59, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.82. 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 50-day moving average price of $215.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.58. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $240.25.

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.