Adirondack Trust Co. Cuts Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Adirondack Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $185.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.29. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.