24,585 American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Purchased by Soltis Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Soltis Investment Advisors increased its American Tower position by 41.9% in the third quarter, acquiring 24,585 shares and bringing its total holdings to 83,245 shares valued at approximately $13.6 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.69% of American Tower, with major holders including BlackRock, State Street, Lazard Asset Management, Deutsche Bank and Legal & General.
• American Tower reported quarterly revenue of $2.79 billion, exceeding estimates, and authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $216.28 price target, despite some recent target reductions.

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 41.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 24,585 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises about 0.6% of Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $13,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of American Tower by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,647,491,000 after purchasing an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,264,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,780 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 27,929 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting American Tower

Here are the key news stories impacting American Tower this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year outlook again after third-quarter results, while attributable adjusted funds from operations per share increased. The results suggest cash generation remains resilient despite the initial post-earnings pullback. American Tower Stock Price Dips As Q3 Results Lift Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: CoreSite, American Tower’s data-center business, continued to report rising revenue, supporting the company’s growth outlook beyond its traditional wireless-tower operations. Why Is CoreSite Lifting American Tower Guidance Again?
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program. Buybacks can support per-share results and signal that management views AMT shares as undervalued. Stock Repurchase Plan Approved by American Tower Board
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive overall: Citigroup maintained a “buy” rating and JPMorgan maintained an “overweight” rating, leaving substantial upside in their revised targets. Analysts Offer Insights on Real Estate Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing AMT with finance and real-estate peers indicate the stock’s year-to-date performance is being evaluated favorably relative to parts of its sector, but the analyst outlook across real-estate stocks remains mixed. Is American Tower Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its AMT price target to $220 from $225, while JPMorgan cut its target to $230 from $240. Although both firms remain bullish, the reductions indicate more cautious valuation assumptions. JPMorgan American Tower Rating

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $198.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Tower from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,829 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $177.00 per share, with a total value of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 7,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,405. This trade represents a 57.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $185.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.52. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50. The firm has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 30.10% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. Analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 27th that permits the company to buy back $2 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

American Tower Profile

American Tower Corporation NYSE: AMT is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its portfolio primarily includes communications towers, rooftop sites, distributed antenna systems and other infrastructure used by wireless carriers, broadcasters, governments and businesses to support voice, data and video communications.

The company leases space on its sites to multiple customers, allowing them to install antennas and related equipment without building and maintaining individual tower locations.

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