KCM Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 41.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,395,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,243,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885,421 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 23,224.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 997,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,941,000 after purchasing an additional 993,061 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Tower by 22,242.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 778,865 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,811,330,000 after purchasing an additional 775,379 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $123,861,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in American Tower by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,310,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,571,000 after acquiring an additional 464,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $196.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. American Tower Co. has a one year low of $170.46 and a one year high of $243.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.59.

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

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Tower from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.85.

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.