Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Trims Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,469 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 23.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,528,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,079,417,000 after buying an additional 3,371,186 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 433.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $470,838,000 after buying an additional 3,225,460 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth about $95,167,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,875,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,476,470,000 after acquiring an additional 747,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 9,471.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 747,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 739,779 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $97.78 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.94. The stock has a market cap of $42.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67 and a beta of 0.89. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CCI shares. JMP Securities initiated coverage on Crown Castle in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $118.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.75.

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.