It’s time for a quick update regarding my most recent Portfolio transaction.  I’ve added to a small position I have in my newest Portfolio stock.

I established my position in this stock less than one month ago.  Since then the price has dropped (along with the market as a whole), and so scooping up some additional shares was an easy decision.

Here are the purchase details…

 

American Tower (AMT)

AMT sees demand for cell towers remaining strong thanks to increasing data usage.  However, this cell tower REIT has been under some pressure as its debt costs continue to go up with the rising interest rates over the past year.

This interest rate headwind has led to adjusted FFO growth being forecasted as flat this year, so the near-term excitement surrounding the stock is fairly low.  However, growth is expected to return in 2024.

You can tell the company is being cautious as just this week it failed to raise its quarterly dividend for the first time since the company began operating as a REIT on the 1st day of 2012.

In any case, while I may be early with my purchase, I view this as a good time to build out my new position, especially if the stock price continues to retreat.

My initial purchase of AMT was at $212.17/share, so I was easily able to lower my cost basis with this addition.

On 3/7/23, I bought 3 shares of AMT at $193.00, for a total of $579.00.  The stock was yielding 3.23% at that price, which is roughly a quarter of a percentage point above my current Portfolio average of 2.95%.

My AMT position grew by almost 43%, increasing my share count to 10 shares… obviously it’s still a small position.

The purchase lowered my cost basis to $206.42/share.  I suspect I can get this below $200 with some small adds over time.

If the price of AMT declines further, I expect to add more shares.  I’d be willing to continue adding at the current level, but if I had to pick a lower price target, I’d pick something in the low $180s, which would be a drop of ~5% from today’s price.

My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income got a decent boost of $18.72 with the purchase.

This purchase, coupled with the sinking stock price of Medical Properties Trust (MPW), has moved AMT out of the last spot in my Portfolio rankings.  While AMT has managed to surpass MPW, it still is my 2nd smallest holding, and it trails Whirlpool (WHR) by a small amount.

With AMT being an existing holding, the number of stocks in my Portfolio held steady at 60.

 

Summary

For my first purchase in March, I bought 3 shares of AMT, adding to my newest Portfolio position.  The stock has been sliding with the market as of late, and offered a decent discount relative to my initial purchase just 3 weeks ago.

My AMT position rose from 7 to 10 shares with the purchase.  My cost basis dropped a noticeable amount, too, despite the small addition.

The purchase resulted in an investment of $579 into my Portfolio.  My forward dividend income increased by $18.72.

I continue to add to many of my smaller positions in an effort to make them a more significant part of my Portfolio, and AMT fits that profile.

 

Are you an AMT shareholder?  Have you bought any shares recently?  Do you prefer fellow cell tower REIT, Crown Castle (CCI)?  Please share in the comments!