Summary
American Tower Corporation (AMT) announced two significant capital allocation decisions via a press release filed on December 7, 2017. The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash distribution of $0.70 per share, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders through regular income. This distribution is scheduled to be paid in January 2018 to shareholders of record in late December 2017. In addition to the dividend, the company also approved a substantial new stock repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to $2.0 billion of its common stock. This move signals management's confidence in the company's valuation and its intention to reduce share count, potentially boosting earnings per share. The company also has remaining authorization under a previous program, indicating a consistent strategy of shareholder returns through both dividends and buybacks.
Key Highlights
- 1Declaration of a cash distribution of $0.70 per share, payable January 16, 2018.
- 2Record date for the cash distribution is December 28, 2017.
- 3Approval of a new stock repurchase program authorizing up to $2.0 billion in share buybacks.
- 4Indication of continued shareholder return strategy through dividends and share repurchases.
- 5Existing stock repurchase program has approximately $345 million remaining authorization.