American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Position Reduced by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

American Tower Stock Down 0.8 %

AMT stock opened at $227.58 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $228.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.06. The company has a market capitalization of $106.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $157.25 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.21.

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.