Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,173,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,924,091,000 after buying an additional 635,726 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,213,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,599,074,000 after buying an additional 204,426 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,316,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $975,065,000 after buying an additional 107,345 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in American Tower by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,422,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $981,455,000 after buying an additional 38,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 5.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,111,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $956,132,000 after acquiring an additional 224,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE AMT opened at $209.91 on Thursday. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.57, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $197.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. 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 is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $229.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is 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.