SAM Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

SAM Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,417 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Crown Castle accounts for about 1.1% of SAM Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. SAM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Crown Castle by 10.9% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 57.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,780 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 3.5% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,222,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 21.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 517,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,816,000 after buying an additional 91,404 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE CCI opened at $102.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.48 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.87.

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.