Verde Capital Management Increases Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Verde Capital Management grew its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMT opened at $186.31 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $192.48 and its 200 day moving average is $211.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.06 billion, a PE ratio of 78.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.42.

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.