American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $201.38 and last traded at $193.8120, with a volume of 200,658 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $181.57.

American Tower News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting American Tower this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SpaceX’s reported push to build a fourth nationwide carrier is boosting tower REITs, including American Tower. Although the initiative could increase competition for wireless customers, tower operators may benefit from new site demand and leasing revenue regardless of which carrier gains market share. SpaceX Is Coming for the Phone Companies, but the Tower Owners Win Either Way
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of SpaceX’s spectrum purchase also points to potential new revenue opportunities for tower operators, reinforcing the view that American Tower could benefit from increased connectivity demand. Crown Castle, American Tower Stocks Catch a SpaceX Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Reports of record data-center leasing are supporting the broader infrastructure and real-estate theme around American Tower, as demand for digital connectivity and computing capacity remains strong. American Tower climbs as data-center leasing hits fresh records
• Positive Sentiment: Director Teresa Hillary Clarke recently purchased additional AMT shares, including a reported 43-share purchase at an average price of $183.20. The insider buying provides a modest confidence signal, though the transaction is small relative to the company’s market value. American Tower SEC insider transaction filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMT. Weiss Ratings downgraded American Tower from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Tower from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $208.00 price target on American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of American Tower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.90.

American Tower Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $89.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $174.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $1.14. American Tower had a return on equity of 32.76% and a net margin of 31.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. American Tower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.000-11.170 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower Corporation will post 10.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. American Tower’s payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 1,106 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.96, for a total transaction of $193,505.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,848,316.56. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Robert Joseph Meyer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.89, for a total transaction of $894,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,428 shares in the company, valued at $3,833,254.92. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,791 shares of company stock worth $1,204,091 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in American Tower in the second quarter valued at about $7,490,943,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Tower by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,066,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,647,491,000 after purchasing an additional 631,593 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Tower by 20.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,325,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,264,311,000 after buying an additional 1,240,780 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,096,186,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of American Tower by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,853,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $793,944,000 after buying an additional 27,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its portfolio primarily includes communications towers, rooftop sites, distributed antenna systems and other infrastructure used by wireless carriers, broadcasters, governments and businesses to support voice, data and video communications.

The company leases space on its sites to multiple customers, allowing them to install antennas and related equipment without building and maintaining individual tower locations.