McCollum Christoferson Group LLC Cuts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

McCollum Christoferson Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 682 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises approximately 2.2% of McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $7,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.3% during the second quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in American Tower by 2.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lifted its stake in American Tower by 2.3% in the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 5.4% in the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 4.9% in the second quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMT. Barclays raised their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.21.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $227.58 on Thursday. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $157.25 and a 1-year high of $243.56. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $228.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.06. The company has a market capitalization of $106.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.80%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value 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 $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.