Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 9,722 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,722 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $9,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Tower Stock Up 0.7%

American Tower stock opened at $190.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $88.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Corporation has a 1-year low of $160.06 and a 1-year high of $202.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

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

American Tower announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 27th that allows the company to buy back $2 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $208.00 target price on American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered American Tower from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.