Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Stock: Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management cut its Crown Castle stake by 81.7% in the third quarter, selling 28,358 shares and retaining 6,350 shares valued at approximately $423,000. Institutional investors collectively own 90.77% of CCI.
• Crown Castle’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $0.67 versus the $0.69 consensus, revenue declined 7.2% year over year to $995 million, and full-year EPS is projected at $4.40.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.0625, equivalent to $4.25 annually and a 4.8% yield, although its payout ratio is elevated at 223.68%. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $94.27.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 28,358 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter worth $32,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 242.8% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 473 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, NBH Bank bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $88.89 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.24. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.32 and a fifty-two week high of $95.07. The firm has a market cap of $37.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.94.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 42.11% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $995.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Crown Castle's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently 223.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CCI shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Crown Castle to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 target price on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert Collins sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total value of $113,835.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,113 shares in the company, valued at $388,025.57. The trade was a 22.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Crown Castle Profile

Crown Castle Inc NYSE: CCI is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and leases communications infrastructure in the United States. Its assets support wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and other communications providers by enabling the transmission of voice, data and video services.

The company's infrastructure has historically included approximately 40,000 cell towers, about 90,000 route miles of fiber and a large portfolio of small-cell installations.

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