Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Stock: Aberdeen Group plc Raises Holdings

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,113,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,644 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.26% of Crown Castle worth $74,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,219,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter worth approximately $68,627,000. Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 89.9% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 30,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 14,451 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,855,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Crown Castle by 8.1% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 674,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,089,000 after buying an additional 50,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In other news, VP Robert Collins sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.87, for a total transaction of $222,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,217.31. This represents a 48.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,041,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,607,192. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $65.32 and a one year high of $95.07. The stock has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.33.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $995.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is 223.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Crown Castle from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.27.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. Its portfolio includes cell towers and small-cell networks that help wireless carriers expand coverage and capacity. The company leases space on its infrastructure to wireless carriers and other customers, allowing multiple users to deploy communications equipment on shared sites. Crown Castle has also operated fiber infrastructure and related services, which support small-cell networks and other connectivity needs.