American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Receives $215.57 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $215.5714.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $209.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on American Tower from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho upgraded American Tower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $189.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on American Tower from $214.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Tower from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE AMT opened at $166.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. American Tower has a 52-week low of $160.06 and a 52-week high of $229.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.30.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $1.24. American Tower had a net margin of 26.81% and a return on equity of 27.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 416 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.54, for a total value of $73,856.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,461 shares in the company, valued at $5,230,505.94. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of American Tower by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About American Tower

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company’s core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.