Insider Selling: American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) EVP Sells 10,005 Shares of Stock

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

American Tower Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AMT traded up $1.97 on Tuesday, hitting $228.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,704,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,353,662. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $236.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.27. The stock has a market cap of $106.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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. Finally, Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth about $221,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.2% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 4.6% during the second quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 73,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,251,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,971,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 1,791.9% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Company Profile

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.