Aprio Wealth Management LLC Takes $365,000 Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in American Tower by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its position in American Tower by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in American Tower by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.4 %

AMT stock opened at $194.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 1-year low of $154.58 and a 1-year high of $219.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $186.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.64. The firm has a market cap of $91.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.09, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.91.

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.