Bridges Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $34,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in American Tower by 227.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,559,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in American Tower by 212.4% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 12,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,801,000 after buying an additional 8,189 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.6% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 11,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,599,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $289,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $201.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.30 billion, a PE ratio of 85.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.84. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $226.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.83. 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 data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

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.