Maple Brown Abbott Ltd Has $63.78 Million Stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 27.9% during Q1, now owning approximately $63.78 million worth of stock, which represents 4.3% of its portfolio.
• American Tower's most recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.60, surpassing estimates, although its revenue decreased 9.4% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.3% despite a high payout ratio of 247.27%.

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd raised its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 27.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 293,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 63,941 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises approximately 4.3% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned 0.06% of American Tower worth $63,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,809,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,667,344,000 after buying an additional 434,118 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of 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. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.0% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,383,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,606,621,000 after purchasing an additional 285,195 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,971,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,299,445,000 after purchasing an additional 30,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT traded up $2.74 on Friday, hitting $206.20. 2,640,404 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,248,539. American Tower Corporation has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.98, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. American Tower's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price objective on shares of American Tower and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Tower from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $244.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's 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 owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.