American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target Raised to $196.00 at Morgan Stanley

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $196.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on AMT. Mizuho started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a neutral rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Tower from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Tower presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $217.36.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $178.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $193.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. American Tower has a 1 year low of $154.58 and a 1 year high of $219.10.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Tower will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 203.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total transaction of $962,584.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,532,080.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total value of $2,367,722.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Tower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,892,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in American Tower by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in American Tower by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Tower by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in American Tower by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 152,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,367,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. 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.