American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Director Robert D. Hormats Sells 700 Shares of Stock

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

American Tower Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $181.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.09. American Tower Co. has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week 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 the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMT. Barclays increased their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth 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.