John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,591 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up approximately 1.2% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMT. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in shares of American Tower by 4.0% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 50.1% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 6.5% during the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE AMT opened at $205.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.69. The stock has a market cap of $96.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.21.

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.