Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on American Tower (NYSE:AMT)

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 73,835 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,713% compared to the typical volume of 2,625 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. HSBC started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 3.6% in the first quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.2% in the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 5,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $365,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, One Plus One Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at approximately $530,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT traded down $10.85 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $181.96. 3,874,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,355,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.67, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 213.84%.

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.

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