Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 735 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $189.85 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.10, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.44 and a 200-day moving average of $209.63.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

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.