Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. Purchases Shares of 21,452 Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,947,000. Crown Castle comprises 2.0% of Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $100.42 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.71. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92.

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

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -58.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group raised shares of Crown Castle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Argus raised Crown Castle to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.41.

Insider Activity

In other Crown Castle news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. This represents a 15.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,944.80. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Company 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.