Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has invested approximately $11.90 million in American Tower Corporation, acquiring 54,704 shares in the first quarter.
• American Tower's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.60, surpassing analysts' estimates, but a 9.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company's quarterly dividend was announced at $1.70 per share, yielding 3.3% and reflecting a payout ratio of 247.27%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 54,704 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,904,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in American Tower by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 218.0% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMT shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,130.25. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.72. 989,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,594,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $217.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.54. The company has a market capitalization of $96.80 billion, a PE ratio of 75.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. American Tower's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.