Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 938 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 938 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $171.56. 3,449,962 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,431,712. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $189.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.53. The company has a market cap of $80.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’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 value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

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.