Perpetual Ltd Decreases Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Perpetual Ltd lowered its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 43.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,140 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $189.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $192.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.51. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.67.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.