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

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $232.07.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 218.0% during the first quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $208.55 on Friday. American Tower has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $204.73 and its 200-day moving average is $203.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.99, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is a boost from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s payout ratio is 141.37%.

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.