American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned 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 $232.07.

AMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Tower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT traded down $9.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $203.72. 5,454,814 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,458,397. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.37 and a 200 day moving average of $203.37. American Tower has a twelve month low of $170.46 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

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American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 141.37%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,329,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in American Tower by 13.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 13,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in American Tower by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 261,653 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $60,850,000 after acquiring an additional 43,675 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by 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.