Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Tower during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $225.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $160.49 and a 52-week high of $243.56. 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 (NYSE:AMT) last posted 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). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AMT shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.