National Pension Service Grows Holdings in American Tower Corporation $AMT

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,240,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,368 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.26% of American Tower worth $238,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Twin City Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 638.1% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 7,428 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 6,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 6.0% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 4,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 9.8% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 237,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,694,000 after purchasing an additional 21,284 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC reduced their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on American Tower from $217.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $203.00) on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.79.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $179.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.32. The company has a market cap of $83.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. American Tower Corporation has a twelve month low of $166.88 and a twelve month high of $234.33.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. 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 is 108.63%.

American Tower Company Profile

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.