Raymond James Financial Cuts American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target to $229.00

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its price objective lowered by Raymond James Financial from $231.00 to $229.00 in a research note released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AMT. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of American Tower from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $254.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Tower in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on American Tower from $226.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.79.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT stock opened at $178.68 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.55. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $166.88 and a fifty-two week high of $234.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.92.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.65 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 28.11%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. American Tower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.600-10.720 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 108.63%.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In other news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. This represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene F. Reilly acquired 5,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $178.99 per share, for a total transaction of $994,110.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,274.11. This trade represents a 4,114.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,640,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,239,277,000 after buying an additional 611,801 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in American Tower by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,666,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,799,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American Tower by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,888,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,324,822,000 after acquiring an additional 208,109 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Tower during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,371,875,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,563,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,229,659,000 after acquiring an additional 208,213 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Tower

American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company’s core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.