Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 335,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,341 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle accounts for about 1.2% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $39,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,177,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $603,518,000 after buying an additional 67,072 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 4.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,088,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $603,592,000 after purchasing an additional 203,442 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,002,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $593,498,000 after purchasing an additional 237,730 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,035,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $387,333,000 after purchasing an additional 391,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 433.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $470,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

NYSE:CCI traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $105.27. 187,464 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,597,467. The company has a market capitalization of $45.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.34 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.48 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup set a $128.00 target price on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service – bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.