American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Holdings Boosted by Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $1,051,898,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.9% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,839,570 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 46.2% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,576,683 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,144,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,541,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16,195.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,833,560,000 after acquiring an additional 844,128 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were 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 owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AMT opened at $194.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.91.

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.