CCM Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,507 shares during the quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc raised its position in shares of American Tower by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in American Tower by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT traded down $4.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,308,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,098,093. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.74 and its 200-day moving average is $211.81. American Tower Co. has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a PE ratio of 73.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.67.

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.