Ieq Capital LLC Increases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of American Tower by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,416,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 36.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,737,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336,501 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 4,985,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,076,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,248,812,000 after purchasing an additional 965,938 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth about $164,300,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $235.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $109.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.57 and its 200 day moving average is $202.42. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $154.58 and a one year 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMT. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.29.

American Tower Company 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.