Becker Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 154.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,734 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CCI. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Crown Castle by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,243,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,465,000 after acquiring an additional 282,821 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,231,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth about $3,083,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities began coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.47.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE CCI opened at $105.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.20 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $99.78 and a 200-day moving average of $98.27. The stock has a market cap of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -69.71%.

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.