American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 990,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 259,305 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.21% of American Tower worth $230,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in American Tower in the third quarter worth approximately $1,156,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in American Tower by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 95,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,128,000 after acquiring an additional 6,163 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in American Tower by 46.8% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 25,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 268.2% in the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 4,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 3,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $192.01 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a PE ratio of 81.01, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.24.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.31.

American Tower Company 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.