American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Stock Has Average Target Price of $216.44

Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.11.

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Tower from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on American Tower from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

American Tower Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $188.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.26 and a 200 day moving average of $177.65. American Tower has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.64. American Tower had a net margin of 30.10% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.99%.

American Tower declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 27th that authorizes the company to buy back $2 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rajesh Kalathur bought 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $177.00 per share, with a total value of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,405. The trade was a 57.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total transaction of $176,891.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in American Tower by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,647,491,000 after buying an additional 631,593 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 20.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,264,311,000 after buying an additional 1,240,780 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in American Tower in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in American Tower by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $793,944,000 after purchasing an additional 27,929 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment.

The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Boston, American Tower serves customers in the United States and in markets across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America.