Westpac Banking Corp Sells 1,875 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 7.7%, now owning 22,400 shares valued at approximately $4.87 million.
• American Tower reported an EPS of $2.60 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.01, despite a 9.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with a notably high payout ratio of 247.27%.

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,875 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in American Tower were worth $4,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Tower from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price target on shares of American Tower and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.88.

American Tower Stock Down 0.2%

AMT traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $203.82. 2,636,869 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,606,967. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $217.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $172.51 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.12, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Company 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.