American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stake Boosted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 930 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in American Tower by 2.6% during the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 6.9% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in American Tower by 300.6% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 42,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,992,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMT opened at $219.27 on Monday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $228.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.51. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $157.25 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during 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 was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. 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. StockNews.com upgraded American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.21.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 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.