American Tower Corporation $AMT Stake Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its American Tower stake 10.7% in the third quarter, adding 6,581 shares to hold 67,820 shares valued at about $11.1 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.69% of American Tower shares. A director bought 2,829 shares, while an executive vice president sold 952 shares under a prearranged trading plan.
• American Tower reported quarterly revenue of $2.79 billion, up 2.5% year over year, and authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase plan. Its consensus analyst rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $216.11.

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 6,581 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $11,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,647,491,000 after acquiring an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,264,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,780 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $793,944,000 after purchasing an additional 27,929 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total value of $176,891.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $188.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. American Tower Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.06 and a fifty-two week high of $202.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $177.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.65.

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

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 100.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on American Tower from $198.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings cut American Tower from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.11.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment.

The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Boston, American Tower serves customers in the United States and in markets across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America.

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