New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 32,392 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 41.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 32,392 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $23,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in American Tower by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 3.1 %

American Tower stock traded up $5.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,661,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,449,003. The company has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

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.