J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $801,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 275,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,459,000 after purchasing an additional 51,882 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 41,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,157,000 after buying an additional 9,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AMT opened at $239.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $222.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.79. The firm has a market cap of $111.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.17, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.