Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Lowers Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. cut its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,996 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,900 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alera Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the 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 approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the 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 approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,264 shares of company stock worth $3,458,757. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $194.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,156,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,462,858. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $186.50 and its 200-day moving average is $195.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $90.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. American Tower's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 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 issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

American Tower Company 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.

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