American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Position Lowered by Avitas Wealth Management LLC

Avitas Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,248,812,000 after acquiring an additional 965,938 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,243,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,421 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $720,206,000 after buying an additional 302,676 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,571,000 after buying an additional 464,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in American Tower by 0.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,630,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $315,868,000 after buying an additional 6,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $212.91 on Wednesday. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $169.70 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The firm has a market cap of $99.45 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.70 and a 200-day moving average of $208.39.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of American Tower 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

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.