Ethic Inc. Sells 1,937 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 4.1%, selling 1,937 shares and now owning 45,357 shares worth approximately $9.95 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.69% of American Tower's stock, with significant increases from firms like Vanguard Group and Capital Research Global Investors.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $244.47 for American Tower, with most ratings ranging from hold to buy.

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,937 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $991,525,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in American Tower by 66.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in American Tower by 160.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 23,627.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,701,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $370,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 272.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,136,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $247,390,000 after acquiring an additional 831,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AMT traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $206.20. 2,640,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,317,871. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.98, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $217.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.04.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

American Tower 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.