BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $90.48 Million Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 78% to 937,710 shares—about 0.22% of the company—valued at approximately $90.48 million at quarter-end.
• Crown Castle declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 (annualized $4.25), a 4.9% yield with an ex-dividend date of March 13 and a notably high dividend payout ratio of 420.79%.
• Analysts have cut targets recently (including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, UBS and Jefferies), while the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $100.13 price target.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 78.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937,710 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 411,016 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.22% of Crown Castle worth $90,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 269.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,300.22. The trade was a 15.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $262,470.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Crown Castle from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Crown Castle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.13.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.7%

CCI opened at $86.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.96. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.01 and a 12 month high of $115.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.05.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 420.79%.

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.

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