Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 9,216 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CCI shares. KeyCorp raised Crown Castle from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised shares of Crown Castle to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.88.

Crown Castle Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CCI opened at $96.65 on Monday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.10. The company has a market cap of $42.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27 and a beta of 0.93.

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 given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.48%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.