Gagnon Securities LLC Buys 2,776 Shares of American Tower Corporation $AMT

Gagnon Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in American Tower by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,647,491,000 after buying an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Tower by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,264,311,000 after buying an additional 1,240,780 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in American Tower by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $793,944,000 after buying an additional 27,929 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $198.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.11.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total value of $176,891.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,855,772.73. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $177.00 per share, with a total value of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,405. The trade was a 57.31% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $190.29 on Thursday. American Tower Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.06 and a 12-month high of $202.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.83. The company has a market capitalization of $88.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.64. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 30.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 27th that permits the company to repurchase $2 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

American Tower Profile

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment. The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.