Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 300,988 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,206,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 300,988 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.69% of American Tower worth $588,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.07.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $220.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $103.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.19. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 141.37%.

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.