Hancock Whitney Corp Trims Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in American Tower were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,177.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $236.24 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.62. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market cap of $110.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.00.

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.