Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.02 Billion Stock Position in American Tower Corporation $AMT

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,914,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 123,470 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,020,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Tower by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Tower by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in American Tower by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in American Tower by 2.2% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 218,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 52.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,570,000 after purchasing an additional 11,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Tower from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Tower from $209.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho raised American Tower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $189.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on American Tower from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.48, for a total transaction of $99,234.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,446.96. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $169.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.39 and a 200-day moving average of $178.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.91. American Tower Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $160.06 and a fifty-two week high of $234.33.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $1.24. American Tower had a return on equity of 27.79% and a net margin of 26.81%.The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.75 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. American Tower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.900-11.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Corporation will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.67%.

About American Tower

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.