Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 6,116 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 8.0%, selling 6,116 shares, leaving them with 70,099 shares valued at approximately $15.25 million.
• Several large investors have recently added or modified their stakes in American Tower, with 92.69% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about American Tower's growth, with a consensus average price target of $242.31 and numerous buy ratings from various analysts.

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,099 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,116 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $15,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 64,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares during the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 13.0% during the first quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 40,750 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 34.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 19,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,305,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 111,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 14.8% in the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 53,132 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,562,000 after purchasing an additional 6,852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.00.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock traded down $3.34 on Wednesday, reaching $211.37. The stock had a trading volume of 977,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,609,688. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $218.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.82. American Tower Corporation has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 30.20%. American Tower's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 174.81%.

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.