Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 391,768 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 675,095 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 391,768 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.16% of Crown Castle worth $61,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $689,944.80. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $4.59 on Monday, reaching $100.42. The company had a trading volume of 3,494,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,877,033. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Crown Castle's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -58.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.41.

Crown Castle 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.