BMO Capital Markets Raises American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target to $260.00

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $246.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $233.29.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $240.32 on Friday. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $221.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.25 billion, a PE ratio of 54.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.83.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp grew its position in American Tower by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.