American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,051,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,768 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of American Tower worth $178,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new position in American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 27.5% during the third quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators now owns 72,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,930,000 after acquiring an additional 15,719 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.0% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Finally, Gagnon Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $454,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price target on American Tower from $198.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on American Tower from $214.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $208.00 target price on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.11.

American Tower Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $189.96 on Friday. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.06 and a 12-month high of $202.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.64. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 30.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 27th that permits the company to buy back $2 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Rajesh Kalathur acquired 2,829 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,765 shares in the company, valued at $1,374,405. The trade was a 57.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total transaction of $176,891.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment. The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.