J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 159 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 159 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2,329.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $218,682,000 after buying an additional 1,275,052 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16,195.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,833,560,000 after buying an additional 844,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Tower by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,255,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $535,447,000 after purchasing an additional 607,199 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,112,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,966,000 after purchasing an additional 339,646 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.19, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $191.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMT. Mizuho began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower 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.