Brokerages Set American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) PT at $217.55

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $217.55.

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMT. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMT. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $197.40 on Monday. 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 50 day moving average price is $196.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.05. American Tower has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.08, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.68.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.