American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $240.88.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on American Tower from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in American Tower by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,583 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,289 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Trading Down 0.9%

AMT opened at $219.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.82. American Tower has a 12 month low of $172.51 and a 12 month high of $243.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $216.39 and a 200 day moving average of $206.17.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 17.34%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. American Tower's payout ratio is presently 174.81%.

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.

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