D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens & Northern Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 9,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in American Tower by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 90,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Raelipskie Partnership increased its holdings in American Tower by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 5,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in American Tower by 380.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 34,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,419,000 after purchasing an additional 27,428 shares during the period. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $192.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.96 billion, a PE ratio of 81.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.88.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given 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 3.37%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMT. JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank cut their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.79.

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.