Haverford Trust Co Sells 7,873 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Haverford Trust Co decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 179,729 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,873 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in American Tower were worth $32,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $364,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $254,000. Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth $373,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 36.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 129,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,055,000 after acquiring an additional 34,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 602,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $140,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $216.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $195.99 and its 200 day moving average is $205.24. The stock has a market cap of $101.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on American Tower from $219.00 to $213.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.43.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.