American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Shares Sold by TIAA Trust National Association

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association has significantly reduced its holdings in American Tower Corporation by 86.3%, now owning only 10,793 shares valued at approximately $2.35 million.
• American Tower's CEO, Juan Font, sold 720 shares of company stock on July 31, resulting in a decrease of 2.98% in his ownership.
• The company's stock price has increased by 0.3% recently, with a trading volume exceeding its average, while analysts have set target prices ranging from $230.00 to $260.00.

TIAA Trust National Association cut its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 86.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,793 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 68,128 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in American Tower were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,516,890,000 after buying an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,050,390,000 after buying an additional 537,136 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,570,547,000 after buying an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,136,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,335,407,000 after buying an additional 220,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,941,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,089,746,000 after buying an additional 455,225 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AMT traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $212.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,804,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,015. The company's 50-day moving average is $218.75 and its 200-day moving average is $210.83. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.51 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.34, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 company earned $2.79 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 target price on shares of American Tower and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.