Bill Few Associates Inc. Raises Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. American Tower makes up about 1.4% of Bill Few Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $229.51 on Wednesday. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $157.25 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. 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 $107.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $228.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.91.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.21.

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.