American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Short Interest Update

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 56,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in American Tower by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 23,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in American Tower by 0.3% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 57,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,312,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.6% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AMT traded down $2.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $225.27. The company had a trading volume of 88,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,274,898. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The company has a market capitalization of $105.22 billion, a PE ratio of 42.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower has a one year low of $157.25 and a one year high of $243.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $228.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.06.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.21.

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.