Brokerages Set American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Price Target at $217.36

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $217.36.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value 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 $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Alera Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its position in American Tower by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 1.3% in the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $174.20 on Friday. American Tower has a twelve month low of $154.58 and a twelve month high of $219.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.67.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Tower will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio 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.