B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,608 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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. Insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $100.15. The stock had a trading volume of 5,068,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,885,969. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.20 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The firm's 50 day moving average is $101.51 and its 200-day moving average is $97.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -39.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.71.

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.