Prudential PLC Has $21.84 Million Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 15.3%, selling 18,120 shares and leaving it with 100,350 shares valued at approximately $21.8 million.
• In recent analyst reports, Wells Fargo lowered its price target for AMT from $240 to $230, while Royal Bank of Canada increased its target from $250 to $260, reflecting mixed sentiment among analysts.
• American Tower recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.3% despite a high dividend payout ratio of 247.27%.

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 18,120 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $21,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMT. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 100.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Tower during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $203.82. 2,636,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,606,967. American Tower Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The company has a market capitalization of $95.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Tower from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC cut shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,880,130.25. This trade represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.