Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. decreased its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 979,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 350,478 shares during the quarter. American Tower accounts for approximately 1.3% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of American Tower worth $211,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Tower by 101,474.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,474,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,219,094,000 after purchasing an additional 10,464,030 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,008,567,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in American Tower by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,231,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,532,063,000 after purchasing an additional 962,800 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Tower by 16,195.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 849,340 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,833,560,000 after purchasing an additional 844,128 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in American Tower by 5.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,984,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,135,227,000 after purchasing an additional 691,934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AMT stock traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $172.02. 2,732,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,422,023. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $192.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.58. The company has a market capitalization of $80.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.09, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower Co. has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Tower Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower's payout ratio is 203.77%.

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.