New Century Financial Group LLC Sells 206 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in American Tower by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services lifted its stake in American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.67.

American Tower Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $194.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.