American Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New $10.40 Million Investment in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• American Assets Investment Management LLC has invested approximately $10.40 million in Crown Castle Inc., acquiring 99,728 shares, which now represent about 4.3% of its portfolio.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Crown Castle, with Citigroup increasing its target from $108 to $124, indicating a general positive outlook on the stock.
• Crown Castle recently reported earnings of $1.02 per share, beating expectations, but also announced a dividend cut, raising concerns over its financial health.

American Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 99,728 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $10,395,000. Crown Castle makes up about 4.3% of American Assets Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CCI. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 9.0% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 1st quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 13.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CCI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Ten investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.18.

Crown Castle Price Performance

CCI opened at $106.88 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.93. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.83%.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In other news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $689,944.80. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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