Capital International Investors Acquires New Position in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Capital International Investors opened a new position in Crown Castle, buying 782,096 shares worth about $75.46 million, representing roughly 0.18% of the company as institutional ownership sits at about 90.77%.
• Crown Castle declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share (annualized $4.25), a 4.9% yield, with a payout ratio of 420.79%, indicating the dividend is large relative to reported earnings.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a mean price target of $100.13, though recent reports show mixed views and target revisions ranging roughly from $84 to $106.

Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 782,096 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $75,464,000. Capital International Investors owned about 0.18% of Crown Castle at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 24.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 599 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Crown Castle by 1.1% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 11,021 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 2.8% during the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 1.1% during the third quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 10,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,058,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on CCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.13.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:CCI opened at $87.55 on Thursday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.76. The stock's fifty day moving average is $87.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.08. The company has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.96.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $401,481.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. This represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $262,470.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Company 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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