NBW Capital LLC Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

NBW Capital LLC cut its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. American Tower makes up approximately 1.6% of NBW Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $7,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 101,474.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after buying an additional 10,464,030 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,008,567,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 2,329.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $218,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,052 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in American Tower by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,231,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,532,063,000 after purchasing an additional 962,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 16,195.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,833,560,000 after purchasing an additional 844,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AMT traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $171.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,245,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,405,704. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.09, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.58.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.