Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 196 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT opened at $172.31 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.19, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.