American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Purchased by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB increased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 69.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,931 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 10,182 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB's holdings in American Tower were worth $5,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 101,474.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464,030 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,008,567,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2,329.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $218,682,000 after buying an additional 1,275,052 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,231,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,532,063,000 after buying an additional 962,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16,195.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,833,560,000 after buying an additional 844,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $178.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,432,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,397,282. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $83.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $193.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.57.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (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 net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.