American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Stock Position Reduced by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 156,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 91,023 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American Tower were worth $33,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American Tower by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after purchasing an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in American Tower by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in American Tower by 101,474.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 10,464,030 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in American Tower by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,195,545,000 after acquiring an additional 258,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in American Tower by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,628,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,090,046,000 after acquiring an additional 138,303 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AMT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.36.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $172.19 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.74. The company has a market cap of $80.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

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

American Tower 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.