Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 33,362 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,375,430 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 33,362 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,033,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,640,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,239,277,000 after buying an additional 611,801 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in American Tower by 24.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,474,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in American Tower by 11.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $1,371,875,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $1,229,659,000 after purchasing an additional 208,213 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Eugene M. Noel sold 41,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $7,872,979.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 29,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,653,551.60. The trade was a 58.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Tower from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on American Tower from $231.00 to $229.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on American Tower from $254.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $214.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.35.

American Tower Trading Down 0.4%

AMT opened at $185.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $181.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.48. American Tower Corporation has a one year low of $166.88 and a one year high of $234.33. The stock has a market cap of $86.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.92.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by ($0.79). American Tower had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 23.76%.The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. American Tower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.780-10.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 126.16%.

About American Tower

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.