Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Buys 144 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,991,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,248,812,000 after acquiring an additional 965,938 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 36.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,737,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,501 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in American Tower by 41.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,243,333,000 after buying an additional 1,885,421 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 8.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $720,206,000 after buying an additional 302,676 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,571,000 after acquiring an additional 464,429 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $227.58 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $228.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The company has a market cap of $106.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $157.25 and a 52-week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Tower from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.21.

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.