QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $4,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 3.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 583,892 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in American Tower by 21.9% during 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 buying an additional 2,839,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,737,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,501 shares during the last quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,375 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.92.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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 value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.97. 333,930 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,342,433. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

American Tower 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.