American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT) – Research analysts at Jefferies Group lowered their Q1 2017 earnings per share estimates for shares of American Tower Corp in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, according to Zacks Investment Research. Jefferies Group analyst M. Mccormack now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $1.51 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.54. Jefferies Group has a “Buy” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for American Tower Corp’s FY2018 earnings at $6.87 EPS.
Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of American Tower Corp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 13th. Pacific Crest raised their target price on shares of American Tower Corp to $132.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Tower Corp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.79.
Shares of American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT) traded up 0.10% during trading on Friday, reaching $124.43. 1,623,033 shares of the company were exchanged. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.16 billion, a PE ratio of 62.84 and a beta of 0.61. American Tower Corp has a 1-year low of $99.72 and a 1-year high of $125.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $119.20 and its 200 day moving average is $110.67.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of American Tower Corp by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 25,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of American Tower Corp by 1,571.3% in the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 391,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,399,000 after buying an additional 368,326 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of American Tower Corp by 6.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,168,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,465,000 after buying an additional 71,341 shares during the period. East Coast Asset Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of American Tower Corp by 0.7% in the third quarter. East Coast Asset Management LLC. now owns 12,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Ngam Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of American Tower Corp by 0.6% in the third quarter. Ngam Advisors L.P. now owns 50,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,673,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.07% of the company’s stock.
In other news, EVP William H. Hess sold 90,489 shares of American Tower Corp stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.96, for a total value of $10,945,549.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,987 shares in the company, valued at $15,360,347.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James D. Taiclet, Jr. sold 69,760 shares of American Tower Corp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.62, for a total transaction of $7,995,891.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 324,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,243,361.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,249 shares of company stock worth $22,541,591. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 10th. This is a positive change from American Tower Corp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. American Tower Corp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.17%.
About American Tower Corp
American Tower Corporation is a holding company. The company owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications real estate. Its primary business is leasing antenna space on multi-tenant communications sites to wireless service providers, radio and television broadcast companies, wireless data and data providers, government agencies and municipalities.
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