Great Lakes Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT – Get Rating) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $6,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMT. Rational Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 84 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 91.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.53, for a total transaction of $38,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,672,516.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.40, for a total value of $47,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,123.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.53, for a total value of $38,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,571 shares in the company, valued at $1,672,516.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised American Tower from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $285.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 21st. Bank of America began coverage on American Tower in a report on Sunday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $315.00 target price for the company. Credit Suisse Group began coverage on American Tower in a report on Wednesday, June 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Tower from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised American Tower from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.69.

American Tower Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $272.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $220.00 and a 1 year high of $303.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.77, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $248.36.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.99. American Tower had a return on equity of 28.93% and a net margin of 27.23%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 17th were given a dividend of $1.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 16th. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $5.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 94.08%.

American Tower Company Profile

(Get Rating)

American Tower Corporation, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of approximately 219,000 communications sites. For more information about American Tower, please visit the Earnings Materials and Investor Presentations sections of our investor relations website at www.americantower.com.