Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 98,667 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,339,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,667 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.29% of American Tower worth $264,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Applied Capital LLC FL acquired a new position in American Tower in the first quarter valued at about $303,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in American Tower by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 302,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,695,000 after purchasing an additional 42,797 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in American Tower by 126.7% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $194.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $90.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.07, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.69.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James upgraded shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.67.

American Tower Profile

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.