Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,578,811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 41,698 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.55% of American Tower worth $556,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its holdings in American Tower by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 9,742 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in American Tower by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 161,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,588,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,379 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $185.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,783,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,464,979. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $188.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.57. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. American Tower's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.91.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 available at this link. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,264 shares of company stock worth $3,458,757 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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