Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 186 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,144,014,000 after buying an additional 1,541,029 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 2,329.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,275,052 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 16,195.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 844,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 worth $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $535,447,000 after purchasing an additional 607,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $181.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.09. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a market cap of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,264 shares of company stock worth $3,458,757. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. 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. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.91.

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.