Plato Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,572,000 after buying an additional 32,029 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth $407,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 21,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,276,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was 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 $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 valued at $7,795,397. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $238.50 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average of $201.18. 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 company has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.96, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.18 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.29.

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.