Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,334 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CCI. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $1,318,000. TT Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 11.3% in the first quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 35,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,688,000 after buying an additional 3,606 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 11.4% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 23,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 41.4% during the first quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 11,636 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 3,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Crown Castle by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In other Crown Castle news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total value of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,762,542.98. This represents a 15.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,944.80. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE CCI opened at $100.71 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $43.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.38 and a 200-day moving average of $96.66.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Crown Castle from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.71.

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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