American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Shares Up 6.6% – What’s Next?

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)’s share price was up 6.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $205.25 and last traded at $204.69. Approximately 540,410 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,138,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.00.

American Tower Stock Up 5.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.14. The firm has a market cap of $94.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 273.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMT. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in American Tower by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 40,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,515,000 after buying an additional 3,131 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in American Tower by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in American Tower by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 268,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,284,000 after purchasing an additional 18,141 shares during the period. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Hedge funds and other 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.