Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 7,332 Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 13.7%, owning a total of 60,895 shares valued at approximately $13.25 million.
• The company reported a net margin of 12.60% and earnings per share of $2.60, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue decreased by 9.4% year-over-year.
• American Tower announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $6.80 and a dividend yield of 3.3%.

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 7,332 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in American Tower were worth $13,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 434,118 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437,602 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in American Tower by 66.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in American Tower by 4.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 285,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 3.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 220,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:AMT traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $204.51. 1,757,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,606,040. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.21 and a 200 day moving average of $211.56. American Tower Corporation has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.37, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.82.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 247.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $149,997.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.