iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 24,645 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in American Tower Corporation by 95.9% in the first quarter, now owning only 1,055 shares valued at $230,000 after selling 24,645 shares.
• American Tower's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.60, slightly above expectations, though revenue declined by 9.4% year-over-year.
• The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 247.27%, with a quarterly dividend of $1.70, indicating a high level of cash distributed compared to earnings.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 95.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 24,645 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 21.8% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 3.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,136,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,335,407,000 after purchasing an additional 220,565 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Tower by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,525,180 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,013,373,000 after purchasing an additional 524,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in 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 valued at $902,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,005 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded down $3.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $206.51. 1,727,522 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,492. The company has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $218.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.24. 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 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. American Tower's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 247.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price objective on American Tower and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.88.

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.