SWS Partners Reduces Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

SWS Partners reduced its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 24.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in American Tower were worth $1,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Tower by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,248,812,000 after buying an additional 965,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 36.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,737,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,501 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 41.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,243,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,421 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 8.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $720,206,000 after purchasing an additional 302,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,571,000 after buying an additional 464,429 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total transaction of $508,020.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. This represents 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 valued at $7,795,397 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT traded up $6.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,171,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,283,965. The firm has a market cap of $106.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.88, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $157.25 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $228.48 and a 200 day moving average of $205.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.