Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Stock Position Decreased by DF Dent & Co. Inc.

DF Dent & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,268 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $4,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 107.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during 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. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.4 %

CCI stock opened at $101.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.48 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.11.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. Crown Castle’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.87.

About Crown Castle

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.