Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires 103,821 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Fisher Funds increased its stake in Crown Castle by 48.9%, buying 103,821 shares to hold 316,014 shares (about 0.07% of the company) valued at roughly $28.14 million.
• Crown Castle recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 (annualized $4.25), implying a 4.9% yieldpayout ratio of 420.79%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $98.39; the stock opened at $86.67 with a market cap of about $37.82 billion and a P/E of 85.82.

Fisher Funds Management LTD grew its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 48.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 316,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 103,821 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned about 0.07% of Crown Castle worth $28,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 25.8% during the third quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 103,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,950,000 after acquiring an additional 21,194 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 15.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,847,000 after acquiring an additional 9,552 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 6.1% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,419,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $233,413,000 after acquiring an additional 138,061 shares during the period. Country Club Bank raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 20.1% during the third quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 70,778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,808,000 after acquiring an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 656,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $63,374,000 after acquiring an additional 21,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CCI stock opened at $86.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.82, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.94. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $115.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.93.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is presently 420.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In other news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. This represents a 15.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $262,470.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $507,442. This represents a 34.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company's assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.