Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 83,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,303 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $19,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.92.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $226.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $228.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.19. The firm has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $159.91 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.