The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 41,923 Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 835,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 41,923 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.18% of American Tower worth $194,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in American Tower by 16.1% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 44,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,459,000 after buying an additional 6,236 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth about $1,147,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of American Tower by 252.2% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Tower by 3.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,731,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $402,694,000 after purchasing an additional 52,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 44.6% during the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Up 0.3 %

AMT stock opened at $208.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.16. The company has a market capitalization of $97.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.54.

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.