Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Invests $9.48 Million in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 125,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,482,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth about $594,670,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Crown Castle by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,635,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,034,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,445,237 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 39,790,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,536,214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953,685 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 591.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,471,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $431,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 422.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,581,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $318,258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,895,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI opened at $75.91 on Friday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.72 and a 1 year high of $104.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.52. The company has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 215.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total transaction of $113,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,025.57. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $88.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.13.

About Crown Castle

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.