Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 13,452 American Tower Corporation $AMT

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,362,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,038,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,060,103,000 after purchasing an additional 57,545 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 101,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,892,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,722,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.05.

American Tower Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $178.17 on Wednesday. American Tower Corporation has a 52-week low of $165.08 and a 52-week high of $234.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.86 and a 200 day moving average of $179.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The company has a market capitalization of $83.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.90.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $1.24. American Tower had a net margin of 26.81% and a return on equity of 27.79%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. American Tower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.900-11.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 14th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 115.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.48, for a total transaction of $99,234.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,446.96. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Eugene M. Noel sold 41,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $7,872,979.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 29,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,653,551.60. This represents a 58.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 42,181 shares of company stock worth $8,046,071 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company’s core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.