Buffington Mohr McNeal Trims Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Buffington Mohr McNeal decreased its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,901 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 164.0% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 126.1% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CCI traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,099,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,854,695. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.72 and a 1 year high of $119.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.44 and its 200 day moving average is $104.46. The firm has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.92). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 195.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Crown Castle from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Crown Castle from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.53.

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.