American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 769 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $6,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $185.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $192.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.04. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $86.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.13, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.42.

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.