Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC decreased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $801,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in American Tower by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 95,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 13.8% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,613,000 after buying an additional 4,660 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 27.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 41,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,157,000 after acquiring an additional 9,275 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $226.30 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $105.68 billion, a PE ratio of 51.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.92.

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.