Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 1,380 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in American Tower Corporation by 1.8%, leaving it with 76,903 shares valued at approximately $16.7 million, making it the 23rd largest position in their portfolio.
• American Tower's quarterly earnings for July 29th showed $2.60 earnings per share, slightly above estimates, but revenue decreased 9.4% year-over-year, amounting to $2.63 billion.
• The recent dividend announcement revealed a payment of $1.70 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, although the payout ratio is notably high at 247.27%.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,380 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up 0.9% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $16,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 369 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 363,088 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,585,000 after purchasing an additional 85,693 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in American Tower by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 231,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,487,000 after purchasing an additional 27,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Georgetown University lifted its holdings in American Tower by 128.2% during the 4th quarter. Georgetown University now owns 45,654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,373,000 after purchasing an additional 25,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.88.

American Tower Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AMT stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $203.82. 2,636,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,606,966. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $217.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.46. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $95.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. American Tower's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About American Tower

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.