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

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.23.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock opened at $189.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $187.80 and a 200 day moving average of $209.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower has a 1 year low of $170.46 and a 1 year high of $243.56.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional raised its position in American Tower by 2.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in American Tower by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 58 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.