Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Buys 71 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 45,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,497,000 after buying an additional 4,154 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 34.8% during the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 18.6% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 22,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of American Tower by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 11,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,393,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,347,319. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $188.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.07. The company has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower 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.