American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Price Down 2.3%

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) were down 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $230.04 and last traded at $230.42. Approximately 399,009 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,299,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on 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, TD Cowen boosted their price target on American Tower from $226.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.29.

American Tower Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $108.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other American Tower news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Tower news, EVP Olivier Puech sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.27, for a total value of $2,333,866.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,070,789.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $232.93, for a total value of $508,020.33. Following 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,723 shares of company stock valued at $7,795,397. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at $549,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at about $9,248,000. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth about $729,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 8.9% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,705,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $720,206,000 after purchasing an additional 302,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in American Tower by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 114,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,337,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the period. 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.