Wedbush Securities Inc. Acquires 3,970 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 169.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in American Tower by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 96,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,615,000 after acquiring an additional 7,872 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 69.6% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 139,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,750,000 after purchasing an additional 57,078 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter worth $2,871,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 92.4% in the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 61,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,808,000 after purchasing an additional 29,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 321,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,094,000 after purchasing an additional 110,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on American Tower from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $203.00) on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $254.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $217.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $231.00 to $229.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.79.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $192.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.93. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $166.88 and a 1 year high of $234.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.63%.

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.