Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,980 shares during the quarter. American Tower comprises approximately 0.4% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in American Tower were worth $3,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the first quarter worth about $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its stake in American Tower by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in American Tower by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Tower by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in American Tower by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $196.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 531,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,477. The company has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.68. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.05. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 213.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. Barclays boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. HSBC started coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.