Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1,791.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 11,665 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,248,812,000 after buying an additional 965,938 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.7% in 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 buying an additional 583,892 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 36.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,737,760,000 after buying an additional 2,336,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Akre Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,468,977,000 after purchasing an additional 36,375 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $238.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $221.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.08.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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 on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,177.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.