Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $5.58 Million in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Crown Castle Inc., purchasing 53,483 shares valued at approximately $5.57 million during the first quarter.
• Crown Castle reported negative net margins of 85.54% and a quarterly revenue decrease of 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year, while beating EPS estimates with $1.02.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0625, translating to an annualized yield of 3.90%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -39.83%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 53,483 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,575,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Crown Castle by 62.1% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $1.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.04. 2,539,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,553. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.20 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a PE ratio of -10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is -39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CCI. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.18.

Crown Castle Company 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.