LPL Financial LLC Purchases 4,941 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 340,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,941 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of American Tower worth $66,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the first quarter worth $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the first quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $238.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $111.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.96, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $221.05 and its 200 day moving average is $201.18. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank increased their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.