GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 200.0% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AMT stock traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $174.78. 1,406,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,417,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.19. The stock has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a PE ratio of 54.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.36.

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.