American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Purchased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 74.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,113 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for approximately 1.3% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $17,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AMT traded down $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $172.96. 1,862,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,429,965. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $190.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.90. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

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.