Akre Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Akre Capital Management LLC significantly reduced its position in American Tower Corporation by 53%, selling 2,914,221 shares in the first quarter and now holding approximately 2.59 million shares, representing 5.4% of its portfolio.
• Various hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Capital Research Global Investors, have increased their holdings in American Tower, indicating confidence in the company's potential.
• Analyst ratings for American Tower have improved, with several firms raising price targets, suggesting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $244.47.

Akre Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 53.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,589,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,914,221 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for 5.4% of Akre Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Akre Capital Management LLC owned about 0.55% of American Tower worth $563,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,809,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,667,344,000 after buying an additional 434,118 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in American Tower by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in American Tower by 4.0% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,383,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,606,621,000 after purchasing an additional 285,195 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in American Tower by 1.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,534,862 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,421,965,000 after purchasing an additional 88,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 3.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,136,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,335,407,000 after purchasing an additional 220,565 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price target on American Tower and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.47.

American Tower Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE AMT opened at $206.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $217.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.67. The company has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.98, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.82. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.