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

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.21.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in American Tower during the first quarter worth about $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $217.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.12. The company has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. American Tower has a 1 year low of $157.25 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.61%.

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.