UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 3,225,460 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 433.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,225,460 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.91% of Crown Castle worth $470,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CCI. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 519.0% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 10,359 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,470,000. PGGM Investments purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,000. Finally, Invst LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $717,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

NYSE CCI opened at $106.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.48 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CCI. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.87.

Crown Castle 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.