American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target Lowered to $223.00 at Scotiabank

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its price target trimmed by Scotiabank from $243.00 to $223.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised American Tower from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $221.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMT opened at $176.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $82.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.40. American Tower has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Tower will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMT. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 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.