American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,146 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value 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 approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $190.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.69 billion, a PE ratio of 59.80, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $195.10 and its 200-day moving average is $192.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 213.84%.

American Tower Company 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.