American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Price Up 3.8% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) shares rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $219.27 and last traded at $219.28. Approximately 207,539 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 2,480,659 shares. The stock had previously closed at $211.30.

The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.34. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.79 earnings per share.

American Tower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from American Tower’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 141.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Tower from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Tower from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Tower has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.07.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMT. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. 4J Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of American Tower by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $211.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.26 billion, a PE ratio of 92.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

American Tower Company Profile

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.