Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Purchases New Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 128 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.9% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 14,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $221.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $103.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $228.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.05. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $157.25 and a one year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

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.