American Tower (NYSE:AMT) PT Lowered to $223.00 at Barclays

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $234.00 to $223.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of American Tower from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Tower from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $220.91.

American Tower Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of AMT stock opened at $195.74 on Thursday. American Tower has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The stock has a market cap of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.29, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $184.67 and its 200-day moving average is $196.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Tower will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter worth $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in American Tower in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.