First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 15,652 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

First Financial Bankshares Inc lowered its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 15,652 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in American Tower were worth $23,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 51.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $214.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market cap of $100.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 141.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $228.79.

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.