American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stake Lessened by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,330 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,248,812,000 after purchasing an additional 965,938 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,416,004,000 after buying an additional 2,839,570 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Tower by 36.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,737,760,000 after buying an additional 2,336,501 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in American Tower by 41.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,243,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in American Tower by 8.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $720,206,000 after acquiring an additional 302,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $219.27 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $157.25 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. American Tower’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.21.

American Tower 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.