LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in American Tower Corporation by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 26,957 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 395,456 shares valued at around $86 million.
• The company reported an EPS of $2.60 for the last quarter, slightly beating analyst expectations, although its revenue fell 9.4% year-over-year.
• American Tower announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.26%, with a payout ratio of 174.81%.

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 395,456 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 26,957 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.08% of American Tower worth $86,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in American Tower during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 218.0% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AMT stock traded up $3.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $212.18. 3,232,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,893,405. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $218.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 24.85%. American Tower's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 247.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the 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 owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. 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 report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Tower from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average 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.