TCW Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

TCW Group Inc. reduced its stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 598,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 131,567 shares during the period. American Tower accounts for 1.4% of TCW Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $129,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMT. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in American Tower by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Trading Down 2.5 %

AMT stock traded down $4.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $186.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,752,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.77 and a 200 day moving average of $196.15. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $154.58 and a 12 month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. American Tower’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,264 shares of company stock worth $3,458,757. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.91.

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.