First Western Trust Bank Sells 1,742 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 9.5%, now owning $3.6 million worth of shares after selling 1,742 shares.
• American Tower reported a quarterly EPS of $2.60, slightly above expectations, but experienced a 9.4% revenue decline compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.3% and a high dividend payout ratio of 247.27%.

First Western Trust Bank lowered its position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,548 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,742 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in American Tower were worth $3,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in American Tower by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 66,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,116,000 after purchasing an additional 27,983 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in American Tower by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 63,626 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,669,000 after buying an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 115,839 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,246,000 after buying an additional 71,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded down $0.51 on Monday, hitting $206.00. 2,339,182 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,134,941. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $172.51 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The company has a market cap of $96.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $218.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.41.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America assumed coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC cut American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.88.

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.