American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $248.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $226.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a neutral rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $221.91.

American Tower Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AMT opened at $181.76 on Wednesday. American Tower has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $219.10. The firm has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.30.

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

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in American Tower by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $401,000. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 10.0% during the third quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 1.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 238,865 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,281,000 after purchasing an additional 3,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 12.0% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 5,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is 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.