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

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $217.36.

A number of research analysts have commented on AMT shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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.

American Tower Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $172.96 on Friday. American Tower has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $80.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.90.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 12.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Tower will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 203.77%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,930,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,020,034,000 after acquiring an additional 196,942 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in American Tower by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 16,440,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,549,366,000 after buying an additional 583,892 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in American Tower by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,416,004,000 after buying an additional 2,839,570 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,269,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,195,545,000 after acquiring an additional 258,030 shares during the period. Finally, Akre Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 6,804,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,468,977,000 after acquiring an additional 36,375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.