Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,779 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $10,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,431,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 3,051.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,472,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $562,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,299,155 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 591.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,471,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $431,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,778 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 33.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,437,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $621,172,000 after buying an additional 1,605,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. This trade represents a 15.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $262,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CCI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.86.

Crown Castle Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CCI opened at $77.88 on Friday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $115.76. The stock has a market cap of $33.96 billion, a PE ratio of 77.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.95.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 420.79%.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.