Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 96.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 85,695 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at $561,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,499,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,672,451,000 after purchasing an additional 5,934,615 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,849,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,892,332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,249 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,793,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $525,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,043 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at $95,167,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE CCI traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,911,401. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.01 and a 200 day moving average of $96.87.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.62). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -39.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CCI shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James raised shares of Crown Castle from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Crown Castle from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.71.

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 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.