Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,657 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,065 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth $34,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 51.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 49.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock opened at $216.41 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.61. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

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.