Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 1.9% during Q1, owning approximately 388,893 shares valued at $40.5 million.
• Several institutional investors also raised their positions in Crown Castle, with Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increasing its stake by 84.8% during the same period.
• Equities analysts generally hold a positive outlook on Crown Castle, with ten analysts rating it a hold and others issuing buy ratings, resulting in a consensus target price of $116.18.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 388,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 7,193 shares during the quarter. Crown Castle accounts for approximately 1.0% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.09% of Crown Castle worth $40,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Crown Castle by 84.8% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 18,318 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 8,407 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Crown Castle by 60.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,472,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $570,443,000 after buying an additional 2,072,198 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 1.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,212,165 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $543,264,000 after acquiring an additional 90,371 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 1st quarter valued at $761,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Crown Castle in a report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. New Street Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.18.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock opened at $105.36 on Thursday. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $103.13 and its 200-day moving average is $99.55. The stock has a market cap of $45.88 billion, a PE ratio of -9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.83%.

Crown Castle Company 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.

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