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

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $226.42.

Several analysts have recently commented on AMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $186.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.29. The company has a market cap of $87.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,657 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,478,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in American Tower by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.