Smith Group Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Crown Castle by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 277,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,145,000 after buying an additional 141,293 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 20,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,440,000 after purchasing an additional 14,975 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 247,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,470,000 after purchasing an additional 43,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Crown Castle by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upgraded Crown Castle from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.13.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $89.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.75 and its 200-day moving average is $105.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 221.99%.

About Crown Castle

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.