Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 98,820 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,980,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 98,820 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.28% of American Tower worth $1,150,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of American Tower by 14.8% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 218,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,223,000 after acquiring an additional 28,046 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 15.4% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 88,921 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,653,000 after acquiring an additional 11,868 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised American Tower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $179.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $83.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $177.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.32. 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 1-year low of $166.88 and a 1-year high of $234.33.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.63%.

American Tower 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.