Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Reduces Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,940 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.29.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $238.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $221.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

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.