Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Acquires 23,966 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 49.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 72,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 23,966 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up about 4.9% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $16,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMT. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its position in American Tower by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in American Tower by 2.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc raised its position in American Tower by 2.3% in the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,424,177.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,177.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 Stock Up 0.0 %

American Tower stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $226.36. The company had a trading volume of 435,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,966. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $160.49 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $228.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.19. The company has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.92.

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.