American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $250.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of American Tower to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $232.07.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of AMT stock traded down $7.76 on Tuesday, hitting $220.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,876,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,435,273. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average is $202.22 and its 200-day moving average is $204.19. The company has a market capitalization of $103.04 billion, a PE ratio of 93.01, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Tower will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. This is a boost from American Tower's previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 141.37%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in American Tower by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,253 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,449,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.4% during the first quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 35,190 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,657,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of American Tower by 9.1% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 193.5% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 182 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in American Tower by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 19,998 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. 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.