Presima Securities ULC Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Presima Securities ULC decreased its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. American Tower makes up approximately 0.8% of Presima Securities ULC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Presima Securities ULC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 8,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management grew its position in American Tower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 9,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.42.

American Tower Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE AMT opened at $185.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $192.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.11. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About American Tower

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.