Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on American Tower (NYSE:AMT)

Equities researchers at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.47% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AMT. Hsbc Global Res raised American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Tower from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $232.07.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $218.40. The stock had a trading volume of 157,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,380,558. American Tower has a 52-week low of $170.46 and a 52-week high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $102.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The firm 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 business posted $2.29 earnings per share. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.