Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,514,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,494 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for about 0.3% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.40% of American Tower worth $1,266,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $344,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock opened at $238.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a PE ratio of 53.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,177.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.29.

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.