The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Price Target to $234.00

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its price target decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $260.00 to $234.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AMT has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on American Tower from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Tower from $248.00 to $236.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $251.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.08.

American Tower Trading Down 0.3 %

American Tower stock opened at $197.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $92.13 billion, a PE ratio of 83.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.44. American Tower has a 12 month low of $170.46 and a 12 month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 273.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in American Tower by 101.1% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 24.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of American Tower by 13.7% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Tower by 142.8% during the second quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 18,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,623,000 after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.