Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 27,068 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 27,068 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $21,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,924,091,000 after purchasing an additional 635,726 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after purchasing an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 25.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,642,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,474,934,000 after buying an additional 2,152,646 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,211,397,000 after buying an additional 243,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $981,455,000 after buying an additional 38,436 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $188.55 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower 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.