Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Holdings Trimmed by Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,169 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CCI. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 108.5% during the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at $28,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE CCI traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,055,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,430. The firm has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.72 and a 52 week high of $131.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $104.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.10.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is 195.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CCI shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Crown Castle from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.73.

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.