Ascent Group LLC Acquires 440 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $215.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,607,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,986. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $197.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.54. The firm has a market cap of $100.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.92.

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.