Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Cuts Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,812 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 0.3% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 196,942 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 691,934 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in American Tower by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,195,545,000 after acquiring an additional 258,030 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,090,046,000 after buying an additional 138,303 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $939,284,000 after buying an additional 56,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $181.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.91.

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.