Brokerages Set American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Price Target at $235.21

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $235.21.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Tower from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $230.00 in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at $12,070,789.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CEO Steven O. Vondran sold 21,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $4,953,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,223,890. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total transaction of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,723 shares of company stock worth $7,795,397 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock traded up $1.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $219.27. 1,392,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,293,269. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $228.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.21. American Tower has a 1-year low of $157.25 and a 1-year high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio is 121.80%.

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.