National Bank of Canada FI Sells 135,743 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 135,743 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in American Tower were worth $47,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 2.0 %

American Tower stock traded down $3.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $178.18. 1,033,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,451,785. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.80. American Tower Co. has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.09 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, 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 transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 this hyperlink. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James raised American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

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.