American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $230.67.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% during 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 period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Trading Up 0.2 %

American Tower stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $190.51. 2,882,489 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,167,840. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. 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 $89.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.39, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $192.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.42.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is currently 273.42%.

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.