Kovack Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 5,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,718,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 0.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 177,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,155,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of American Tower by 16.1% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $2,001,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.36.

American Tower Trading Up 2.0 %

AMT stock opened at $175.06 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The company has a market cap of $81.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.05, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.49.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.