Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Holdings in American Tower Corporation $AMT

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 120,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,841 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $23,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Tower by 0.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,028,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,930,530,000 after acquiring an additional 218,881 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,666,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,799,458,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,328 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,680,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,476,529,000 after purchasing an additional 708,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth $1,371,875,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 3.9% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,563,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,229,659,000 after buying an additional 208,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 211,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,743,685.25. This represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on American Tower from $231.00 to $229.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $226.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.79.

American Tower Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $171.46 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $176.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $166.88 and a 12-month high of $234.33.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 108.63%.

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.