Wallington Asset Management LLC Purchases 4,064 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Wallington Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,064 shares during the period. American Tower comprises approximately 2.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $16,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMT. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $2,950,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 2.7% in the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 5.2% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1,607.1% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 102,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,820,000 after acquiring an additional 96,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 2.2 %

American Tower stock opened at $226.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $228.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $159.91 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $105.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 1.08 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was 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 company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.92.

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.