Capital World Investors Buys 64,807 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its stake in Crown Castle by 2.2%, acquiring 64,807 shares in the quarter and now owns 3,000,765 shares (about 0.69%) valued at roughly $289.5 million.
• Several brokerages trimmed price targets (e.g., Wells Fargo to $90, HSBC to $88.40, Citigroup to $106), but the stock maintains a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $100.13.
• Crown Castle declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 (annualized $4.25), representing a ~4.9% yield, while the dividend payout ratio is notably high at 420.79%.

Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,000,765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 64,807 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 0.69% of Crown Castle worth $289,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CCI. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 7.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $641,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CCI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Crown Castle from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the 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 owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at $2,174,300.22. This represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $87.55 on Thursday. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.01 and a twelve month high of $115.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $87.31 and its 200 day moving average is $91.08. The company has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.96.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

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

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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