Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Trims Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,486 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Coastline Trust Co increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 2,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 23.5% during the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 199,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 161,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 27.0% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 this hyperlink. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $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 Stock Down 0.7 %

AMT stock opened at $171.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $190.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.97.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMT. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

About American Tower

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.