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

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $221.67.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James upgraded American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company.

American Tower Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $192.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market capitalization of $89.79 billion, a PE ratio of 43.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.81. American Tower has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Tower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Tower by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services grew its holdings in American Tower by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by 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.