Magellan Asset Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 59.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,855,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,064,860 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle comprises about 3.0% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $232,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CCI. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 55.6% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 128.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $76.20 on Wednesday. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $73.75 and a one year high of $115.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.10 and a 200 day moving average of $85.99. The stock has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.41 million. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 64.64% and a net margin of 25.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CCI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Crown Castle from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Crown Castle in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.52.

Crown Castle Profile

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.