American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Trading Down 2.1%

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) shares were down 2.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $217.53 and last traded at $218.56. 223,864 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 2,362,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Tower from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.14.

American Tower Trading Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $101.74 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $206.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.48.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower Co. will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Joseph Meyer, Jr. sold 2,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $7,424,177.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,227 shares of company stock valued at $8,497,458 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 1,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in American Tower by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services lifted its holdings in American Tower by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.