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

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $217.36.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

American Tower Price Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $171.00 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.43. The company has a market capitalization of $79.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Tower will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.77%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.