Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,876 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 45.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,876 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMT shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.91.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $194.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.61%.

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.