Clarius Group LLC Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Clarius Group LLC reduced its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of American Tower by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,726 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $223.68. The stock had a trading volume of 355,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,351,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $104.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $204.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.87. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $236.13.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,227 shares of company stock valued at $8,497,458 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. Barclays dropped their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.42.

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.