Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Stake Lifted by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 80.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,109 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 36.6% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,246,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,929,989. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $101.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.84. Crown Castle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.20 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 78.12% and a negative return on equity of 164.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.50%.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,571 shares in the company, valued at $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.71.

Crown Castle Profile

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.