Cornerstone Advisors LLC Buys 9,100 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 88.3%, acquiring an additional 9,100 shares, bringing its total to 19,400 shares valued at approximately $4.22 million.
• American Tower recently posted earnings per share of $2.60 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, although revenue decreased by 9.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, yielding 3.2%, but its dividend payout ratio stands at a high 247.27%.

Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 88.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,727,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,492. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. American Tower Corporation has a one year low of $172.51 and a one year high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.82.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.88.

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.