American Tower Corporation $AMT Stock: PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Boosts Position

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators grew its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 15,719 shares during the quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ holdings in American Tower were worth $11,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,647,491,000 after acquiring an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 20.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,264,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,780 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of American Tower by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $793,944,000 after purchasing an additional 27,929 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total value of $176,891.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,855,772.73. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,405. The trade was a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock opened at $189.96 on Friday. American Tower Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.06 and a 52 week high of $202.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market cap of $88.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.64. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 30.10%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 100.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Mizuho set a $208.00 price target on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.11.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment. The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.