American Tower Corporation $AMT Shares Bought by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 952 shares of the firm’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 $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rajesh Kalathur bought 2,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Tower Trading Up 0.1%

American Tower stock opened at $188.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $88.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $177.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.70.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 30.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMT. Citigroup lowered their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.11.

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.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Boston, American Tower serves customers in the United States and in markets across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America.