Crown Castle Inc. $CCI Stake Increased by Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.

Key Points

• Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. increased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 15.2%, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio, with a total worth of $2.58 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, also increased their holdings, demonstrating significant institutional interest in Crown Castle, which is now owned approximately 90.77% by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Equity analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Crown Castle, with Wells Fargo upgrading their rating from "equal weight" to "overweight" and increasing the target price from $105 to $125.

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,710 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,258 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle accounts for about 2.8% of Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $2,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CCI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Crown Castle by 10.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,840,605 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,175,256,000 after purchasing an additional 6,341,150 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $305,876,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 60.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,472,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $570,443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072,198 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 107.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,730,309 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $284,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 575.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,285,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $134,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,455 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CCI. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, New Street Research upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.41.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock traded up $1.7610 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.3110. 2,590,171 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,231,014. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $103.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.89. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.20 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Crown Castle has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.140-4.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.83%.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service - bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.