NBC Securities Inc. Decreases Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

NBC Securities Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 78.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,928 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $194.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $185.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.73.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. 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, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.