American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Sold by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 91.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,427 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,647,491,000 after buying an additional 631,593 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Tower by 20.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,264,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,780 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in American Tower by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $793,944,000 after acquiring an additional 27,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AMT. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.11.

American Tower Stock Up 0.1%

AMT opened at $188.98 on Tuesday. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.06 and a 1-year high of $202.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $88.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.64. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 30.10%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 27th that permits the company to buy back $2 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, Director Rajesh Kalathur bought 2,829 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $177.00 per share, with a total value of $500,733.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total transaction of $176,891.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment.

The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Boston, American Tower serves customers in the United States and in markets across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America.