California State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 711,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,952 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $57,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCI. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 55.6% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 128.7% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CCI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Crown Castle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $88.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.13.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI opened at $76.55 on Friday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.52 and a 12 month high of $112.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.47. The company has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.74%.

Crown Castle Company Profile

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.