American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 6.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 533,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 36,900 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Tower were worth $102,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,028,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,930,530,000 after buying an additional 218,881 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in American Tower by 24.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,666,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,799,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in American Tower by 11.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,680,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,476,529,000 after acquiring an additional 708,808 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,371,875,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower by 3.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,563,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,229,659,000 after purchasing an additional 208,213 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $181.25 on Friday. American Tower Corporation has a 12 month low of $166.88 and a 12 month high of $234.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $177.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.82.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 28.11%.The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 108.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on American Tower from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.79.

American Tower Profile

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company’s core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.