Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 1,114 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 60.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after buying an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,401,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,987,902,000 after purchasing an additional 77,155 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 101,474.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 9,842,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,908,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.55.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $197.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.09. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The company has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.14, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.68.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 213.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.