CoreFirst Bank & Trust Takes $204,000 Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Syntax Research Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 17,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,217,000 after buying an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its position in American Tower by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 8,726 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Mill Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC now owns 120,683 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $212.75 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $196.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.10. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.