First Trust Advisors LP Increases Position in American Tower Corporation $AMT

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 116.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 131,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,708 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in American Tower were worth $22,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Tower by 489.1% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 11,377 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 81.9% in the 1st quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 34,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 15,520 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors boosted its stake in American Tower by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 42,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,276,000 after purchasing an additional 9,556 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in American Tower by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,873,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $855,675,000 after purchasing an additional 220,447 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 474,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,258,000 after buying an additional 61,428 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $214.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded shares of American Tower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $189.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.19.

Key Headlines Impacting American Tower

Here are the key news stories impacting American Tower this week:

• Positive Sentiment: American Tower raised its 2026 guidance again, increasing the midpoints for property revenue, adjusted EBITDA, AFFO and AFFO per share. The company now expects adjusted EPS of approximately $11.00-$11.17, above the $10.66 analyst consensus. Management also expects roughly 15% growth in data-center revenue, supported by strong AI-related demand. American Tower raises 2026 outlook again, targets approximately 15 percent data center revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue reached $2.749 billion, up about 4.7% year over year and ahead of expectations, while AFFO rose to $2.71 per share from $2.60 a year earlier, in line with estimates. Property revenue increased 6.3%, and net income attributable to common shareholders rose sharply to approximately $868 million. American Tower tops second-quarter estimates, raises annual outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Record leasing at CoreSite, American Tower’s data-center business, and robust global tower leasing are improving the company’s growth profile. The results suggest that AI-related data-center demand may provide an increasingly important earnings driver beyond traditional mobile-network infrastructure. American Tower raises outlook as CoreSite leasing reaches record
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their valuation targets: Scotiabank increased its target to $220 from $218, while BMO lifted its target to $195 from $190. BMO maintained a “market perform” rating, indicating upside potential but a measured view of the shares’ valuation. Scotiabank adjusts price target on American Tower
• Negative Sentiment: Investors still face operational and financing headwinds, including DISH-related tenant churn and higher refinancing costs. Although the outlook was raised, some coverage noted that the initial full-year revenue forecast was below market expectations, which could limit near-term enthusiasm if tower growth or CoreSite leasing slows. American Tower Q2 earnings call highlights

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $179.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.43. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $217.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $176.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.38. The company has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.91.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.76% and a net margin of 31.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Corporation will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 115.67%.

About American Tower

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.