Creative Planning Increases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Creative Planning boosted its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,861 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in American Tower were worth $13,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.00.

Insider Activity at American Tower

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

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $232.46 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a market cap of $108.58 billion, a PE ratio of 52.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 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.