Webster Bank N. A. Boosts Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. boosted its position in American Tower by 0.9% during the second quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 11,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 0.9% during the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 26,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,217,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in American Tower by 59.1% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth $9,796,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 11.4% in the second quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 15,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AMT traded down $1.02 on Friday, hitting $222.59. 2,071,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,362,313. The stock has a market cap of $103.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.36, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $204.69 and a 200-day moving average of $194.94. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $236.13.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. Scotiabank boosted their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays cut 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.42.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,227 shares of company stock valued at $8,497,458. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.