Stevens Capital Management LP Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 62.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,330 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in American Tower by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 368,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,586,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $29,032,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in American Tower by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 995,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,494,000 after purchasing an additional 62,359 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,550,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $284,326,000 after purchasing an additional 59,306 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in American Tower by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 44,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,123,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $216.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.43.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. American Tower’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 141.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower 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 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 approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.43.

American Tower 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.