Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in Crown Castle by 3.1% in Q4, selling 13,177 shares and leaving 409,900 shares (about 0.09% of the company) valued at ~$36.43 million.
• Crown Castle recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 (annualized $4.25), which implies a 4.8% yield but a very high dividend payout ratio of 420.79%.
• The company has a market capitalization of $38.72 billion and a high P/E of 87.84; analyst coverage is mixed but the MarketBeat consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $98.39 price target.

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,177 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.09% of Crown Castle worth $36,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership raised its stake in Crown Castle by 25.8% during the third quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 103,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,950,000 after acquiring an additional 21,194 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Crown Castle by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,847,000 after purchasing an additional 9,552 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Crown Castle by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,419,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $233,413,000 after purchasing an additional 138,061 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Crown Castle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 656,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $63,374,000 after purchasing an additional 21,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,578,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $88.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.72 billion, a PE ratio of 87.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.94. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $115.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.88.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 420.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CCI shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. New Street Research cut shares of Crown Castle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $262,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,442. This trade represents 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 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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