Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Stock: Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Decreases Position

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. cut its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 33.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,660 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter worth about $13,219,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,627,000. Saudi Central Bank boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 89.9% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 30,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 14,451 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in Crown Castle by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 674,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,089,000 after buying an additional 50,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,855,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE CCI opened at $87.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.32 and a 52-week high of $95.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $77.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.27.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.12% and a negative return on equity of 42.11%. The firm had revenue of $995.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 223.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.27.

Crown Castle Profile

Crown Castle Inc (NYSE: CCI) owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. Its portfolio includes cell towers and small-cell networks that help wireless carriers expand coverage and capacity.

The company leases space on its infrastructure to wireless carriers and other customers, allowing multiple users to deploy communications equipment on shared sites. Crown Castle has also operated fiber infrastructure and related services, which support small-cell networks and other connectivity needs.

Founded in 1994, Crown Castle serves communities across the United States.