Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,677 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for about 0.8% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $216.41 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $101.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $195.99 and a 200 day moving average of $205.61. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.37%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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, March 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.43.

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.