Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,120 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 101,474.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,219,094,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464,030 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth about $1,008,567,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 2,329.8% during 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% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,231,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,532,063,000 after buying an additional 962,800 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Tower by 16,195.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 844,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.21. 3,806,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,417,186. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.65 and its 200-day moving average is $193.68. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The company has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 203.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction 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 $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.