Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 222,873 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 504,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 222,873 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $92,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $1,164,851,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at $193,246,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 456.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,124,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $206,269,000 after purchasing an additional 922,701 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in American Tower by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,164,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $947,295,000 after buying an additional 742,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $58,905,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock opened at $220.43 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $202.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.72. The company has a market cap of $103.04 billion, a PE ratio of 93.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.