First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Position in American Tower Corporation $AMT

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 47.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 109,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,037 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in American Tower were worth $24,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 136.4% during the second quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in American Tower by 86.0% during the second quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in American Tower in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Eugene F. Reilly acquired 5,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $178.99 per share, with a total value of $994,110.46. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,274.11. The trade was a 4,114.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $180.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $84.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.86. American Tower Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $172.51 and a fifty-two week high of $234.33. 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 (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 28.11% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. American Tower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.600-10.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Corporation will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC decreased their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $231.00 price objective (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on American Tower from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on shares of American Tower and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.00.

American Tower Company Profile

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.