American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in American Tower by 174.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in American Tower by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,000. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $487,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $215.04. 1,607,810 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,310,986. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $100.42 billion, a PE ratio of 48.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.54.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.92.

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.