American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Holdings Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Tower Corporation by 0.7%, now owning approximately 62.8 million shares valued at $13.67 billion.
• American Tower reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a revenue of $2.63 billion, though this reflects a 9.4% year-over-year decline.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and highlights a dividend payout ratio of 247.27%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,809,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 434,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.44% of American Tower worth $13,667,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 218.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $206.51. 1,727,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,492. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $218.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. American Tower Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month 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, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMT. UBS Group upped their target price on American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Tower from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.