FourThought Financial Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. by 66.5%, owning 31,103 shares valued at approximately $3.24 million after purchasing an additional 12,425 shares.
• The company has reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.02, exceeding estimates, but has a negative net margin of 85.54% and a decline in revenue of 4.2% year-over-year.
• Crown Castle's quarterly dividend was recently set at $1.0625 per share, amounting to a dividend yield of 3.81%, but the company's dividend payout ratio stands at a negative 39.50%.

FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 66.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 12,425 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,766 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,139,000 after acquiring an additional 4,772 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 9.0% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Crown Castle by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 204,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,537,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,031 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 4,276 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.18.

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.6%

CCI traded down $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,101,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,231,358. The company has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The stock's 50 day moving average is $102.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is -39.83%.

Crown Castle 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.