American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Research Coverage Started at JMP Securities

JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $225.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho lowered their target price on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.23.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $183.87 on Monday. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The stock has a market cap of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 77.58, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.97.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Tower will post 10.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction 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 $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.