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

Shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $217.90, but opened at $225.00. American Tower shares last traded at $224.13, with a volume of 674,342 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMT shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.07.

American Tower Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $105.54 billion, a PE ratio of 95.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $200.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $1.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.37%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in American Tower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 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.