American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 43.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,997 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth $1,371,875,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,474,328 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 233.5% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,797,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $618,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958,329 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $1,476,529,000 after buying an additional 708,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in American Tower by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,605,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $796,790,000 after buying an additional 434,537 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $171.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. American Tower Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $166.88 and a fifty-two week high of $234.33. The company has a market cap of $80.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.93.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Argus set a $210.00 target price on shares of American Tower in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Tower from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

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.