American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE AMT opened at $189.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $187.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.34.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.23.

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.