Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in American Tower Corporation by 0.1%, owning 1,317,900 shares worth approximately $286.8 million after selling 1,600 shares in the 1st quarter.
• CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares at an average price of $208.33, decreasing his ownership by 2.98% and holding shares valued at about $4.88 million afterward.
• American Tower announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, which represents a 3.2% yield and a 247.27% dividend payout ratio.

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,317,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of American Tower worth $286,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 218.0% in the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.51. 1,727,522 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,492. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.09, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. American Tower Corporation has a one year low of $172.51 and a one year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%. The company's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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 $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 247.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMT. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price target on American Tower and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is 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.