Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Increases Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 43.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 204,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,537,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.5%

CCI stock opened at $109.33 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a PE ratio of -10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.20 and a 12-month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is -39.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $127.00 target price (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,183,563.36. The trade was a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.