Ninety One SA PTY Ltd Decreases Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ninety One SA PTY Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,792 shares during the quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 269.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.23.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $184.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.25. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $170.46 and a 1-year high of $243.56.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.42%.

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.