American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $217.36.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,051,898,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,416,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839,570 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 4,985,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,076,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,683 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in American Tower by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Tower by 2,329.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,329,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $218,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,052 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $174.20 on Friday. American Tower has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.19. The company has a market cap of $81.24 billion, a PE ratio of 54.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 9.94 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 203.77%.

American Tower Company 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.