Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Boosts Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.4% during the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $534,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.0% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 4,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $196.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $226.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.34. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The stock has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

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.