First Pacific Financial Sells 141 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

First Pacific Financial lessened its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 141 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American Tower by 1.6% in 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 buying an additional 965,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 36.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,336,501 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,243,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,421 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $720,206,000 after purchasing an additional 302,676 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 16.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,571,000 after purchasing an additional 464,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE:AMT traded up $7.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $229.51. 2,309,767 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,289,686. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $157.25 and a one year high of $243.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.68.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.21.

Insider Activity

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

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.