Argent Trust Co Lowers Holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)

Argent Trust Co lowered its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 48.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,560 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after buying an additional 3,437,602 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,050,390,000 after acquiring an additional 537,136 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in American Tower by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 3.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,136,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,335,407,000 after purchasing an additional 220,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,941,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,089,746,000 after buying an additional 455,225 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Tower from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

American Tower Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $212.18 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.16, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $172.51 and a 1 year high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. American Tower had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 24.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 247.27%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.