American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Price Down 2.9% - What's Next?

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $222.12 and last traded at $222.65. 344,886 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,301,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Tower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.00.

American Tower Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $104.46 billion, a PE ratio of 50.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $228.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 23.06%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. American Tower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,401 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Tower by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 41,284 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,157,000 after purchasing an additional 9,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in American Tower by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 871,635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $172,061,000 after purchasing an additional 43,531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.69% of the company's stock.

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.