American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Purchased by Vert Asset Management LLC

Vert Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. American Tower comprises about 7.2% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $17,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,020,034,000 after acquiring an additional 196,942 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 16,440,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,549,366,000 after acquiring an additional 583,892 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in American Tower by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,416,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,570 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in American Tower by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,195,545,000 after acquiring an additional 258,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Akre Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,468,977,000 after acquiring an additional 36,375 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.91.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock traded up $1.95 on Thursday, reaching $194.62. 221,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,411,598. The stock has a market cap of $90.88 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $186.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.23.

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). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

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.