American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stock position in American Tower Corporation by 7.2%, leaving it with 18,259 shares worth approximately $3.97 million.
• American Tower reported earnings of $2.60 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and highlighting a revenue of $2.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.80 and a yield of 3.26%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,419 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the first quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the first quarter worth $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 218.0% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE AMT traded up $3.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $212.18. 3,232,190 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,893,405. The stock has a market cap of $99.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $218.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.53. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at American Tower

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMT. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 target price on American Tower and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.