Cetera Advisors LLC Purchases 9,275 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 9,275 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $8,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $234.64 on Friday. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $236.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.02 and its 200-day moving average is $194.19. The company has a market capitalization of $109.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.42.

American Tower 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.