Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 130,182 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 130,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $21,309,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Tower by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,647,491,000 after purchasing an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 20.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,264,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,780 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter valued at about $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in American Tower by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $793,944,000 after purchasing an additional 27,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $188.59 on Tuesday. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.06 and a 1-year high of $202.50. The company has a market capitalization of $87.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $208.00 target price on American Tower in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on American Tower from $210.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total value of $176,891.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $4,855,772.73. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rajesh Kalathur acquired 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its portfolio primarily includes communications towers, rooftop sites, distributed antenna systems and other infrastructure used by wireless carriers, broadcasters, governments and businesses to support voice, data and video communications.

The company leases space on its sites to multiple customers, allowing them to install antennas and related equipment without building and maintaining individual tower locations.