American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target Cut to $223.00

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its target price reduced by Scotiabank from $243.00 to $223.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on AMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $228.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Three research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $221.91.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $181.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.39. American Tower has a 52-week low of $154.58 and a 52-week high of $219.10. The company has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of American Tower 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,051,898,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 21.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 2,839,570 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 increased its holdings in American Tower by 46.2% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in American Tower by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,299,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,144,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,029 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.