American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Raymond James from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $248.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their prior price objective of $226.00. Raymond James' price target would indicate a potential upside of 40.27% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AMT. Mizuho began coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.91.

American Tower Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE AMT traded up $5.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.80. 3,877,084 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,449,003. The company's 50-day moving average is $189.71 and its 200-day moving average is $194.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.61, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Tower will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,051,898,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,823,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,416,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839,570 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 36.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,794,776 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,737,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,501 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 4,985,879 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,076,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.