Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Buys 2,215 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY has increased its stake in American Tower Corporation by 3.0%, bringing its total holdings to 75,267 shares, valued at approximately $16.4 million.
• CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares at an average price of $208.33, reducing his ownership by 2.98% and retaining 23,425 shares valued at about $4.88 million.
• Analysts' ratings for American Tower are predominantly positive, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.88, following both downgrades and increases by various investment firms.

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,267 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY's holdings in American Tower were worth $16,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the first quarter valued at approximately $991,525,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after buying an additional 3,437,602 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,570,547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 160.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,920,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $902,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,005 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 23,627.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,701,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $370,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694,784 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC lowered American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $204.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,717,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,606,771. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $218.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.51. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $172.51 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The company has a market capitalization of $95.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is presently 247.27%.

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.