Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $2.42 Million Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,120 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Personal Capital Advisors Corp increased its position in shares of American Tower by 1.7% during the first quarter. Personal Capital Advisors Corp now owns 2,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 40.3% during the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the fourth 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 period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of American Tower by 7.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price target on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.36.

American Tower Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:AMT traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,806,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,186. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.68. The firm has a market cap of $80.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About American Tower

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.