Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Stake Decreased by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,064 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 159.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI opened at $106.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.02. The stock has a market cap of $46.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68 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 one year low of $92.48 and a one 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twelve investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.87.

Crown Castle Company 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.