American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,095 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in American Tower were worth $17,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,164,851,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 456.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,269,000 after purchasing an additional 922,701 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,164,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $947,295,000 after buying an additional 742,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $217.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $199.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.20.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.