Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 302,676 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.79% of American Tower worth $720,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $344,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 2,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in American Tower by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 148,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of American Tower by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 63,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Tower by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 6,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock opened at $232.46 on Tuesday. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.65. The firm has a market cap of $108.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Tower 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.