Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. trimmed its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 5.7% in 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 period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $179.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho started 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.91.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.