American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,610,000 shares, a decline of 8.6% from the September 15th total of 3,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $155,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $490,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $1,476,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 217.1% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 5,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.21.

American Tower Stock Down 1.1 %

AMT traded down $2.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $225.08. 555,734 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,277,050. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. American Tower has a 12-month low of $157.25 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 121.80%.

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.