Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 19.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,392,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 346,461 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $92,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CCI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,326,154,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,023,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,743,562,000 after purchasing an additional 211,633 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Crown Castle by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,463,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,094,691,000 after buying an additional 1,828,065 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Crown Castle by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,325,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $514,320,000 after buying an additional 144,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $456,897,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of CCI traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $90.86. 3,041,760 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,607,192. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.32 and a fifty-two week high of $95.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $995.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.12% and a negative return on equity of 42.11%. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 223.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In other news, VP Robert Collins sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total value of $222,175.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,217.31. The trade was a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Crown Castle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 target price on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.27.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. Its portfolio includes cell towers and small-cell networks that help wireless carriers expand coverage and capacity. The company leases space on its infrastructure to wireless carriers and other customers, allowing multiple users to deploy communications equipment on shared sites. Crown Castle has also operated fiber infrastructure and related services, which support small-cell networks and other connectivity needs.