Veracity Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Veracity Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 13.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.14.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at $14,223,890. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,227 shares of company stock valued at $8,497,458. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $0.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $219.49. 2,005,924 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,356,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $208.12 and a 200-day moving average of $196.12. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $236.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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 return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

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.