Oak Asset Management LLC Acquires 955 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other American Tower news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $194.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.95.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

About American Tower

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.